52 New Friends

My hairdresser’s salon is always a big party.   There is a chaotic energy as soon as you walk through the door.   Occasionally someone will bring in a little wine to share.   And when it’s your turn in the chair, the spotlight is on you.   It’s one of my favorite places.   One day back in the spring, my hairdresser began asking me about my project to meet fifty-two new friends.   Patty wandered in about that time and when I was moved to the couch for my color to settle, I plopped down right beside her. At the time, Patty was working for one of the local television stations.   She has perfect blond hair and large, expressive eyes.   I honestly can’t remember what we talked about during that first meeting.   It may have been her cats…but whatever it was, I instantly loved her.   I was so excited when she agreed to be one of my new friends.   We immediately connected on social media, but I could never get Patty to commit to a...

One of my long-time friends moved to a new neighborhood in Ahwatukee.   Laurie and my friend, Angie, were introduced because they used the same realtor and live a few doors down from each other.   Since the homes are new, the women have leaned on each other as they are exploring all the nooks and crannies of their new houses.   Angie invited me to see a movie with her and at the last minute, asked Laurie if she would like to tag along.   Angie knows I’m on a mission to meet new friends this year so she figured I wouldn’t mind.   And I didn’t. Originally from Chicago, Laurie grew up the youngest of three children.   She graduated with a degree in math but trained in IT right out of college.   Laurie had planned on moving in with a friend of hers and staying in Chicago, but her mother begged her to go to open interviews for a life insurance company based out of California that was doing interviews in the Chicago area.   To appease her mother,...

When Jaye was a tween, her father had an opportunity to expand his business into the United States so he moved the family away from their beloved Canada to live in Arizona.   There are a lot of things Jaye missed about her home country but mostly, she missed her friends.   Twenty years ago, there was no social media to keep up with people we once knew but Jaye found a way to communicate with those she knew in Canada through a series of chat rooms she found on the computer.   It was all very innocent.   Still, while she was exploring these chat rooms, she met a boy from Iowa online and they began chatting regularly.   The two of them became very close over a period of time but after a while, they drifted apart as the young tend to do.   Then, when Jaye was sixteen, she got a message from this long, lost boy.   He wanted to come out to Arizona to meet her.   He had just turned eighteen, making him two years older than her.   Jaye told...

Some personalities are just too big to capture on a page…but I’m going to try. Megan grew up in Finley, Ohio.   Her first title was ‘Ted and Fritzy’s daughter’.   It was her father that instilled in her the desire to help others.   Ted participated in the Big Brother program.   He was well-known, well-liked and did a lot for the small community Megan grew up in, a town that largely remains unchanged from what Megan remembers growing up.   But Megan’s personality is a lightning rod for the unusual.   When she was eighteen-years-old, she moved to Phoenix for the first time with her boyfriend.   You know…that thing you aren’t supposed to do?   That time her visit to Phoenix was short-lived.   Her boyfriend got hooked on meth.   Life quickly eroded into a big mess so Megan packed her bags and moved back to Ohio where she tried other paths.   She trained in theatre for while but realized she didn’t like the criticism of her ...

I was walking into my favorite martini bar to meet a new friend when I got a text saying the woman wasn’t going to be able to make it because of a family emergency.   I was bummed.   Normally I might have turned around and left.   But this was my favorite martini place… I figured one martini wasn’t going to hurt anyone so I took a seat at the bar and buried my face in my phone.   After a while, I heard a soft voice behind me say, “Is anyone sitting here?” I looked up to see an older black man pointing at the seat to my left.   A quick assessment of the bar made me realize the only two empty seats were on either side of me.   “No, the seat is yours,” I declared.   “In fact, if you are meeting someone, I’d be happy to move down one.” Gordon shook his head and told me he was by himself so I took the cue and put my phone away.   Would I have done that if I wasn’t on a mission to make friends this year?   I’m not sure. Gordon to...