Beach Memories and stained glass...

I love the beauty of stained glass. I never see stained glass now without having some fond memories of my friend, Brenda. We have been friends for years.

The year was 1993 , the year that I was out of work due to the closing of the detached office that I worked in. The office closed in April and I had plenty of free time on my hands. Brenda and her husband has owned a beach home for many, many years so she asked me to go with her to the beach a week in June following a wedding in my family. I was delighted as I love the beach.

Actually we took along another friend of ours, which before the week was over, we wish we had left at home. :P It was the first of 10 trips that summer to the beach. We hung out, stayed up late, drank margaritas and played the stereo wide open just like we were teenagers and free again. Brenda worked at that time at a music store and she had the top of the line in stereos and speakers. (Not when I was with her, but police had been for loud music in the past). We were kicked back one night and I had drank a few margaritas, but Brenda liked that potent stuff, but that was ok.

Brenda said I wantcha to hear a good song, so out of her hundreds of cd's she finally found the cd of K.T. Oslin and finally it got to "the" song, simply titled, DoYa'. It hit my liking as fast as my first margarita did! She turned the volume up so loud that normal speakers would have roared or blown out , but not these. The only thing happening from the sound was the vibration of the nice hardwood floors. From that song , that night, Do Ya' was played each and every time my feet hit the sand of North Myrtle Beach. Whether it is my memory or the margaritas; I had a bad back at that time too and best I remember I was lying on the vibrating hardwood floor and Brenda was walking on my back. She had just enough of her drink of choice to think it might help it. Her husband always knew when for her to stop her kind of drinks; she always had a clue, her tongue musta got thick cause she slurrrrrred her words alot.
BUT......that night he wasn't there.

I know you are wondering what in the dickens has this got to do with stained glass. Oh it does. Her beach house had the most beautiful stained glass window between her kitchen and dining room. It was of a sea gull. I liked it so good, we looked North Myrtle over for a sea gull charm for my necklace. We found one and Brenda bought it for me. She also had a large stained glass window in the bathroom across from the "Queen's Chambers" where I got to sleep when I went down. Other times, it was she and her husband's bedroom. The window was so colorful and in the daylight it would blow your mind. Hence, my love of stained glass.

Later that year we already had central air put in when we replaced our furnace, but we had a large window unit in our den still in place. I had an idea! We had the a/c removed and we closed the opening with a stained glass window. The only problem is, the other side of the wall and window is the garage. But I get the enjoyment of being able to see it from the inside.

Needless to say we went to the beach many, many more times through the years after the 10 trips in 1993. I am not sure, but the last time we went, I got severe chest pain and scared the snot out of Brenda and have not been asked to go as often since. Brenda had shared earlier with me, that she had a fear of having good friends because she was afraid they would die on her. Having said that, it was on my return from that beach trip with the chest pain, that I found I had angina and I was only having an attack, just had no nitros to take for it. Maybe I need to tell Brenda I found out what was wrong. I sure do need a trip to the beach. Maybe a margarita and some peanuts. But only one margarita next time.

Love you Brenda. God Bless!