My very best memories of Sherry were during our High School Years. I don’t think I would have had as much fun as I did, until she moved into the neighborhood during the summer before 10th grade.

Thanks to her generosity and that beautiful red Karmann Ghia of hers, many of us learned to drive a stick shift for the first time. Lord, if cars could talk!  After a while, that beautiful car had taken quite a beating from us all. The passenger seat was broken to the point that it rocked back and forth when I sat in it and it   felt like I was sitting in the back seat instead of the front. It was always good for a laugh, but that was just for starters. The antenna was broken, so while Sherry drove, I would hold a wire coat hanger onto the antenna site which was conveniently located close to the passenger window, therefore enabling us to listen to the radio.  Oh, and it had a headlight that pointed to the stars.  OMG, living so close together in the trailer park, we would actually play hide and seek with our cars. I, in my parents new Cordoba and Sherry, in her cute little car that could hide anywhere. She always won because her car could dash in and out of the tiniest of driveways.  With the noise from the engine and the screeching of brakes, I’m amazed we didn’t get in trouble or an accident of some kind. We drove that car everywhere, even thru the desert to visit our friends in  Greenbriar. It was a shortcut from our neighborhood to theirs and in the process, mowing down the Oleander bushes that fenced our neighborhood, made for more laughter. Again, it’s amazing we didn’t get thrown out of the trailer park. Pretty innocent fun in those days! Trust me; there was some not so innocent fun as well!

And then there were the sleep over’s. My sisters and I and several friends spent most of our summer nights at Sherry’s, while her mom worked her butt off serving cocktails on swing shift. What teenager wouldn’t want to hang out in an unsupervised home?  Surprisingly, we never got in trouble. I remember a time when she called and wanted me to come over and I was getting a little bored with summer and I said “I don’t know what you want to do?” She replied “Well, we can smoke cigarettes, eat tuna fish sandwiches and drink iced tea” and I said “OK” as if it was something we weren’t doing everyday already. LOL.

Sherry was very particular about a few things. One was her crushed ice. We would go out of our way to a drive thru on Las Vegas Blvd. (I don’t remember the name) to get her iced tea because the crushed ice was just the way she liked it. The second thing was her mascara.  I have never known anyone who could be so meticulous with her lashes.  While the rest of us were ready to go, it never failed that we were left painstakingly waiting for her to finish the application process. It did payoff however, as it enhanced her beautiful brown eyes to go along with that gorgeous, thick hair.  I can’t mention her eyes without mentioning her hair. What a beauty she was, both inside and out! 

It always amazed me how she could be so determined when she wanted to be. Sherry had a way of talking you into doing things you might not want to do. She was actually very good at it.  I’ll never forget the time she talked me into working her shift, waiting tables at the famous Truckadero truck stop on Blue Diamond Road. I had never been a waitress before and can’t remember why I agreed to such a thing, except that she had that way of convincing me. Squeezing into her tight fitting uniform was a sight in itself and after writing all my orders out in long hand, I pretty much had other waitresses and cooks hating me. I wanted to walk out but didn’t have any transportation; there was no Uber in those days.  As soon as my sister arrived to pick me up, I walked straight out the door leaving behind, my pay for the day. The boss was dating Sherry’s mother at the time and that was how I was able to just show up and take her place for the day. I should have been furious with her but I don’t remember ever being mad at her for anything. Even when she borrowed a piece of clothing, it never came back the same. She always modified clothes to fit her body type and we couldn’t be more opposite in our shapes, she with the big boobs and me with the big butt.

One night, over iced tea, tuna sandwiches and cigarettes, we made a promise to be one another’s Maids of Honor in our weddings someday and we fulfilled that promise. Sherry started out to be a great wife and mother. It was about 10 years after High School that she started having some difficulty and I learned some things about my sweet friend that I never knew. She was seeking counseling and doing her best to   deal with it all. The last time I saw Sherry face to face was our 20th High School Reunion. She looked great but was still going thru some tough times. We lost touch over the years but thankfully Facebook brought us together again and we were able to pick up where we left off, laughing about the old times and catching up on the new. She spoke so lovingly about her children and grandchildren that you would have thought she was near them daily. I know she was very proud of all of you and I wish I knew how things got so bad that she basically abandoned us all, however I do believe that she felt it was the best thing to do at the time. 

Sherry was an old soul; she came from the school of hard knocks due to some of her choices but also some that were made for her and yet she was the most forgiving person I have ever known. I don’t think she had an envious, jealous bone in her body. I don’t remember a time where she spoke badly about someone and if she did, she spoke it to their face as well.

I didn’t realize she suffered from depression but looking back, when she was down, she wrote the most beautiful poetry.  Yes, my memories are from long ago, however we had a phone conversation within this last year and I could still hear her kind heart. I’m grateful that she was able to connect with her family and friends through FB. I’m sure it gave her great joy to watch her grandchildren grow up and I’m sure she also shed many tears at the same time.  I didn’t know she was as ill as she was and was hoping we would arrange to see one another again. Rest in Peace my dear friend and God Bless you all!

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