Today, April 5, is the
birthday of Mavis Dunford, my best friend after I first moved to Calgary as a
four-year old. I lived downtown in a old house at 901-10th Avenue SW, and she lived next door.
We started school
together but were never in the same class, although being neighbours, we constantly visited back and forth, and played endless games of
skipping, hop scotch, jacks, and “wedding” which involved our getting married
to one another on my veranda with Mavis always the bride because she had long
hair. We enlisted her siblings to fill in other roles, and celebrated the event with Neapolitan ice cream provided by my mother.
Then we each moved to another part of the city, and while we didn’t lose track of one another until I started university
in Edmonton, the friendship was never quite the same.
Nevertheless, every year on April 5 I remember that hers was
the first birthday I celebrated outside of my own family. I wonder how she is, and I do a cursory search
for her on the internet. This has become
an annual event for the past 10 years or so. I have even posted messages on the alumni site for Western Canada High School, but without success.
This year, being retired
and all, I had a bit more time to dig around, but still no luck. She has disappeared – married, moved away,
died—who knows?
If you are out there, Mavis,
Happy 69th Birthday, old friend. You can still be the bride.
Lovely blog, Nancy. I still think of Shirley Bell on 10 September and Jennifer Matheson on 3 October. We went to the same primary and secondary schools. Shirley and I were walking-home-from-school friends. However, she and Jennifer were best friends. I didn't mind one bit because MY best friend was Jacqui and nobody had a better friend than Jacqui. Her birthday, by the way is 30 April, so I may think of her in a few days, even send heer a card.
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