Emily Paine Carter

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Wasn't writer Emerson ever so right? "A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of Nature." We are so enriched by some mighty fine masterpieces.

Recently I witnessed a gathering of such treasures: Nine women, 1973 Andrew Lewis High School graduates.

Over the years some have wandered away from Greater Salem. But each Dec. 26 they reunite at Salem's Mac and Bob's. They've done so since 1978.

Salem reader Nelle Lucas had called me in hopes of a surprise tribute-to-friendship for daughter Susan Lucas and her longtime pals. (You know how we proud moms are.) "It's just so wonderful that they've gotten together for all these years!" Nelle said.

As you can guess, they weren't hard to find in the restaurant. They'd also been clued in to letting me sit in on their lunchtime merriment.

"Some I only see once a year, here -- so I always look forward to this," Susan said. Each gave a two-minute update.

Their joy at reuniting was laced with poignancy: they keenly missed Debbie Downing Rambo, a faithful friend who had died since their last gathering. "So we're honoring her memory today," emphasized "Mich" Crawford Peters of Roanoke. All raised their glasses in a toast to Debbie.

"And we're getting to the age when we take care of our parents; that's where two friends are today," Mich observed.

Among the missing that day were Linda Thornhill Ives of Salem, Cindy Gentry Wickham of Smith Mountain Lake, Cynthia Hudson Gallagher Londeweer of Roanoke, Nancy Kinsey Smith of Atlanta and Kathy Frazier of Winston-Salem, N.C.

But there were still enough "girls" at the table for lively conversations: in addition to Susan and Mich, Jeanne Damus of Los Angeles, Connie Patillo Pearlman of Roanoke, Vivian Miller of Los Alamitos, Calif., Ann Berbert Eisenberg of Richmond, and Julie Thomas Arthur, Beth McClanahan Ledwith and Cherry Johnston Sprinkle, all of Salem.

"So many of us came up through Brownies, Girl Scouts -- even nursery schools -- together," Mich said. Some attended Academy Street and Broad Street elementary schools; others, Oak Grove -- "then we 'molded' together as ninth-graders."

Laughed Jeanne: "But we weren't bullies! And we sat with seniors as freshmen."

Susan, now of Roanoke, recalled that her mom used to go Scout-camping with about half of the girls. And parents became longtime friends, too; all but three moms are alive, noted Mich.

The friends have various careers: Realtor, international tax manager, teachers (one retired), homemakers/volunteers, marketing consultant, executive assistant, employee relations specialist, etc. One is a grandma; another has a young child. "Few of us are with our [original] husbands," Susan said.

All are college grads (six, Virginia Tech; three, University of Virginia).

"And we're all strong women," Susan noted.

"We're due our 35th high school reunion -- and just look at these 'girls!' " Cherry exclaimed.

Indeed, they're a good-looking group, "but we look less cool in our high school yearbook pictures!" Mich chuckled.

She added, "we feel like we did at '70s slumber parties. We're together in our hearts when something happens -- like when one's father died. We e-mail a lot. It's a true friendship."

"There's no 'warm-up' in our conversations," Cherry said. "A quick transition; no pretense."

Jeanne summed it all up: "It's a beautiful, beautiful friendship."