By Barbara Morris
It is just about time that two married couples in my family will be celebrating their Golden Anniversary within a month of each other. My cousin, Joan, and her husband, Victor Meyer, were the first of the two to celebrate in June. Joan’s sister, Ruth, and her husband, Jack Wilson, chose July as their month. They and their children have shared good and bad times, but have set wonderful examples for the rest of the family and for their communities.
Their families no longer are geographically close, but when they do get together, time apart and distance seem not to matter at all. Last year our friends, Jean and Don Spengeman, also celebrated their 50th, which all together adds up to 151 years of wedded bliss. Three cheers for all of them. Here’s to at least 50 more for each of those couples and for others, too, who take their marriage vows seriously, do constructive things along the way and enjoy life to the fullest.
There was another celebration at the end of June that should be mentioned, which was the grand opening of Bowrey’s Pharmacy at its new location, 224-l2 Merrick Blvd., Laurelton, phone: 276-7106. Ian Bowrey, “Pop” Bowrey, other members of their family and their terrific staff endured some difficult times in their first location. While crime still was a factor, they became “sandwiched in” between two very large, new competing neighbors – one only half a block away, the other a bit further.
It did not seem “nice” to me, but these days nice doesn’t seem to count for much. People seem to do whatever they want, no matter who gets hurt along the way. At any rate, Bowrey’s Pharmacy has what I hope will be a very happy and successful location in the Laurelton Medical Center. The festivities were beautifully arranged, with an archway of blue and white balloons and others overhead in the entrance hall of the medical center.
Although Mr. Bowrey welcomed us and invited us to partake of what he called finger food, it seemed more like a feast. Silver chafing dishes held hot chicken, there were silver platters of turkey, meat, salads and fruit, bread, rolls, crackers, cheeses, nuts, chips, dips and a variety of interesting drinks.
I had to miss the beautiful cake but I certainly didn’t miss seeing a lot of good friends and neighbors, nor did I miss getting a souvenir t-shirt, which I will be happy to wear to help increase support for this very welcome family business. Thank you, Bowrey Pharmacy for staying with us. We hope you have great success.
That same weekend, I went outside early Sunday morning. It already was beginning to feel hot and sticky. At about 8:30 a.m. or so, I heard six or seven long, loud desperate screams that sounded not too far from our home. It was the voice of an adult woman. I ran to the front to try to determine the location. A few doors from me, across the street, I could hear loud voices but I couldn’t tell what was being said.
I called “911” and asked if they had received any other calls from my area. The operator said “no.” I told her I would go out again and call back if I could give a definite location. She said she’d request a response from police. By the time I got back outside, the police car was already coming toward me. The two officers knew me and together we asked a neighbor who had been gardening if he, too, had heard those screams.
He had, and said he thought it had come from the avenue nearer to my home. The police car backed up to the avenue as a second police car came to the site. Another yell. Both cars pulled back to the house where I had heard the loud talking. They are new residents I hadn’t yet had a chance to meet and welcome to the neighborhood.
As we stood there, no more than a second or two, their front door flew open and a man ran down the steps wearing shorts, waving his arms and hollering, “I did it! I did it! I was the one who was yelling! I came out because I saw the cars.”
My response was quick, “Oh, no. The screams I heard were screams of an adult woman. What did you do?”
He responded just as quickly, “Yes, a woman, too. There’s a whole bunch of us in there.” All of a sudden, there was a total uproar from inside. He said, “You see, it’s soccer. We just won. Don’t you see the flag of Brazil hanging out the window?”
We did, indeed. It’s wonderful to have happy endings. Congratulations and best wishes to all.
