Geri Stahl

I am 17 years old and waiting at the Bronxville train station to board the train to New York City where I will get off at Grand Central Station to then go my first day of College on a scholarship at the State University of New York
I am so excited to go on my new journey in life ….passage to my future 💋
When I get to school I had to get books and sign into classes … a girl stands next to me and she says “ Do you have a pen I could use “ … “ I forgot a pen “
I started to laugh thinking who comes to collage without a pen … she started to laugh too … her name was Geri …
We went about our day and I needed coffee as I had a break between classes
I notice her sitting by herself in a corner and I get my coffee and asked if I could sit with her … Geri is from Astoria , Queens … I am from Westchester… she takes the subway … I take the train … she is all Italian… her mother born in Italy… my mother is Italian and we started taking and we just hit it off … we became friends forever …
As the year progressed we did fabulous things went all over the city sometimes meeting at Grand Central Station and she would take the train to Westchester and stay the weekend or I would go to her house in Queens and stay over … once we went to church with beautiful coats on the outside and our nightgowns underneath… we laughed for years over that …. we would get dolled up and go to concerts and plays and I suggested we save our money for our last day of school our first year in college in May and go to the Plaza and have those fabulous goldfish bowl drinks with floating gardenias in them ( in those days you could drink at 18 years old) OH the time we had that day … we left the Plaza doing high kicks down the front steps as the doorman smiled at us
It was one of the best days ever
A whole year of college under our belts
We made it 💋
We saw each other over the summer and Geri came to my parents home for the weekend before college was to start again
And she told me … “ I AM NOT GOING BACK “ … my heart dropped…WHAT???
Then she said… “ You are on scholarship… I am not … I struggled through the year … you sailed through it
I’m not meant for this .. I have an interview for a job after Labor Day
We will still be best friends…
And we did remain best friends
I introduced her to her husband and she was my maid of honor at my first marriage… I left for Texas after I was married but in between visits to NY … we would ALWAYS SEE EACH OTHER
Then I moved to Jacksonville, Florida and upon returning I was pregnant and having my One and only child … Geri was married but it took 10 years of marriage and she had her son and then went on to have a daughter… I got divorced… she stayed married to a wonderful man and as always I went to visit her in between Showbiz …
The friendship lasted a lifetime
She even came to see me in “ GEMINI “ in 2019 prior to the pandemic…
We visited each other whenever life permitted
Her birthday was 12/2 …
Yesterday at the event at Herberger’s I get a text from my exhusband my
son’s father … who always kept in touch with Geri’s husband as they were friends
Geri was gone
I almost fainted
GONE … my first college friend
A friendship that lasted a lifetime
Gone … it’s hard to fathom this
All I can think of is the laughs we had from day one
Getting dolled up to go see the band
Her being my maid of honor
Me in her wedding
All the visits
All the laughs
I have a very, very, hard time with the end of anything
This is very hard
I will always miss you Geri
💋
Maybe we could meet at Grand Cental Station in Heaven… someday 💋
Unfortunately I am in Montana and will not be able to be there
I am beyond heartbroken 💋