Old Friends Rise Back Up

How about this! Yes, that is The Not Quite Great Plotnik in the upper right, with his braces. The shot was taken in the early 1960s at the home of the wonderful girl on Dick Brody's shoulders, Jerri, and her brother Ken, at their feet. No one really knows who the guy in the front corner is, but the boy in the middle is Richie Tutor, Plotnik's best friend from early childhood, who was killed in a car crash only a few years after this picture was taken.

Jerri and Ken and Dick were neighborhood friends of The Still Lesser Plotnik all through Junior High and High School.

There was one more friend, too, and here he is: Joel, second from left. Plotnik was younger than the others, but JEEZ he was a dweeb.

The four guys and Jerri did lots of stuff together.



These five friends, who haven't been in contact in more than 40 years, have hooked up with one another again in the past few days. God Bless the Internet. Plot has sent and received emails from all, especially Jerri, who, in the end, Plot probably knew best, because there was one summer, several years later, when the braces were pulled off.

Plotnik vividly remembers taking Jerri to the beach one hot, September afternoon, and realizing as he lay there with her on the sand, that something was going on here that he hadn't planned. Oh, baloney, yes he had. But she was his friend's kid sister. So? So.

He remembers dancing with Jerri to 'Shari Baby' by the Four Seasons.

He remembers her silly laugh. Right now, remembering her laugh, he starts to laugh.

He remembers wondering how she could have grown up to be so cute. Luckily, he hadn't seen his own pictures back then.

So Jerri has had three marriages and Ken has had four. Joel has had two. Of the five, only Plot and Dick Brody are still married to the parent of their children. Jerri's a photographer. Dick runs a specialty dry cleaning shop. Joel's a psychologist. Ken is in plastics. The Great Plotnik is the leader of a Minor Western Religion and czar of the Sanchez Street Arugula Cartel.

All five kids grew up in the San Fernando Valley. Now, two are in Washington, and three are in the Bay Area.

All the dads are dead. Two moms are still alive.

Friendship and fire, two things you don't ever forget.