Latest / Just Us Sisters / Episode 13: Childhood Friends-Part I

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Episode 13: Childhood Friends-Part I · Just Us Sisters

• speaker-0: Welcome to the Just Us Sisters podcast. Life didn't come with a manual, so we made a podcast. speaker-2: doesn't Welcome to Just Us Sisters, episode number 13. Today we're talking about our childhood friendships. I'm gonna introduce each sister and they're gonna introduce their childhood friend. We're gonna start with Susan, sister number one. speaker-3: Hey, my school friend was Rose Penkunis Tabor. ⁓ speaker-2: All right. And Sheryl and I'm number two and high school friend is Rae Dixon De Shelly is sister number three. ⁓ speaker-4: My from way back is Lisa Crook Caudle speaker-2: And Stacy, our little baby is number four. speaker-5: And my friend is Kari La Fuente speaker-0: back. speaker-2: Way back. what did each person meet? ⁓ speaker-4: I'm going to start because Lisa and I go back the furthest. We met when we were two years old. Our family moved to Maple Drive in Schertz Texas, and we ended up almost, not quite, right across the street from each other. And so we're going on a 58 plus year friendship. speaker-6: Crazy. Yeah, that's pretty cool. speaker-5: And we met the summer before my seventh grade year and her eighth grade year. We had just moved to Leander and her mom and my dad worked together and our parents quickly became best friends. speaker-3: And I met Rose in high school. I don't know, it's been so long ago. It was probably my sophomore year. If she was a freshman, she was a really good basketball player. And so she got moved up fast. So. speaker-2: And I met Rae Anne when we were in sixth grade. We didn't go the same sixth grade, but I think we were about 11 or 12 years old. On each of these questions, I would like to get each friend's perspective because they might not be the same, which is going to make it a lot of fun. let's start off with what's a fun memory that you can remember as a child with your friend? speaker-6: I think one of the funnest things, Shelly, was that I just talked about this the other night, was the honeysuckle bush and laying on top of the honeysuckles by the fence and picking the honeysuckles and sucking off the juice. Like we could lay there forever and just keep eating those honeysuckles. Yeah, ⁓ that was fun. speaker-5: And then we would get in trouble, right? Because we tore the honeysuckle bush up. speaker-4: I don't know the neighbor's name, but he didn't have kids, so he couldn't appreciate our adventurous spirit. But we were trying to get a cup of honey, and so we picked every honeysuckle bloom off the plant. And he was not happy. speaker-3: Gosh, I remember the honeysuckles, but I sure don't remember the neighbor. speaker-6: I can't remember his name, but he was not hap- speaker-5: I don't think he was very memorable. speaker-6: Not in a good way. speaker-4: Dad said he had to get on him for getting on to Sheryl and said, that's not your job. speaker-6: He did say that, didn't he? speaker-5: So my fun memory, so many by the way, was one we went down to Victoria and I think to Corpus Christi with Kari's aunt and uncle, we were in a very small Datsun pickup with a trailer hatch on the back and we rode in the back all the way down there. I think we even slept in it. Did we? ⁓ speaker-0: So see, I don't remember that until you brought it up. but now it's kind of coming back to me. speaker-5: And we, was spring break. was spring break and we, was so cold that we laid in blankets on the beach and when the sun would peek out, we'd throw the blankets off to try and get sun and then we'd wrap back up because we were freezing. That was a great memory, fun memory. ⁓ speaker-0: a fun slash funny memory. So since I was 18, I feel like I have not had a good memory. So the memories I have are pretty vivid. But I remember going to East Texas with Stacey and I believe we were staying with Sheryl. So we were staying with you Sheryl. And I remember you were driving us around somewhere. Were you like part of the youth group, like a leader, youth group leader at that time? So then we had some male youth person with us. are you remembering this? ⁓ we're driving down the road and this Hispanic boy was crossing the street and the youth voice like 10 points if you hit the Mexican. ⁓ And Stacey and I looked at each other because he didn't know I was Hispanic. We just started laughing and she's like, she's Mexican. It was funny because he had no idea and he was so embarrassed and I felt so bad for him, but he was hilarious. speaker-5: We rode the bus up there and home and in like Athens or somewhere, Corsicana maybe, the bus stopped, then it started going and our luggage was on the side of the road. We're like, where's our luggage? And I thought we were young, we were like, hey, you left our luggage back there. Go get it. speaker-2: ⁓ gosh. speaker-7: Turn around. speaker-3: Okay, so Rose and I are in trouble, okay, because we're a lot old, y'all have young minds. Y'all have young minds. All my very good memories stem around playing sports with Rose and fellowship of Christian athletes. We had some amazing, we went to, I think, did you go to FCA camp with me? Yes. Yeah. Yes. We had some amazing time there. speaker-2: Arf and freezer. speaker-3: And we got to share going to State together and we got to share the Lord together. The good thing about that was it's hard to find a friend that has the same values as you do. And she did. And that to me was the most important thing in our relationship is that we knew where each other stood with the Lord, with dating. and dating the right people and sports and the priority that it should play in our lives. I don't know. It just, that's my great memories. I don't have one specific. She may, but I sure don't. speaker-7: If you remember, we would go every Sunday, since your dad was principal, you'd have the keys to the gym and all of us would go play basketball with the boys and the boys team and the girls team and whoever else, even our coaches, King Coach Dodge and Bill would come and play. That was fun. speaker-2: Shirts and skins, I think. speaker-7: You might have been a but I don't think I was in- speaker-2: No, we didn't. speaker-7: I remember the silver bullet. Y'all remember the silver bullet? Well, it was a blue truck. It turned into a silver truck and whatever color that y'all painted it. think every one of the sisters probably drove that truck. You got a blue Volkswagen, I remember. Didn't you get it? And for whatever reason, sometimes it was always, you're having a hard time getting it started. So you'd always have to get out and push it and you'd pop the clutch. speaker-3: ⁓ yeah. speaker-4: ⁓ yeah. speaker-3: Yeah, I drove that one into the ground in the year that I got it because I got too many people in there. And my dad said four was the limit and I had six and broke down and never started again. Good memory. speaker-4: We had a gang on Maple Drive and that gang consisted of me and Lisa and my little sister, Stacey, and her friend, Anita. And we ruled those streets and ran those streets right up until the street light came on and then we scattered like roaches to go home. And I mean, I can't even begin to... just say how many good times we had. mean, exploring things that unfortunately kids just cannot do in these days and times. I mean, we would go, but we knew by golly, when those street lights went on, we better be within about three minutes of the house. But a lot took place between when we went outside and those lights coming on. speaker-6: Yeah. speaker-3: Hey, we had a softball team named wasn't it the Maple Street or Maple Leafs? Rose, did you play on that? My Dad was the coach. No, was a softball. No. Okay. I couldn't remember. Sarah, what about y'all? Y'all, you and Rae Anne. speaker-7: I don't think so. speaker-2: You have any speaker-8: There were no stories, happened. It just didn't happen. speaker-5: Social media speaker-4: Sitting there wondering what in the world she can legally say. speaker-8: The is there's so many stories, right? Yeah. Uh-huh. said that when we were young, we didn't go to the same middle school. We were just a junior high at the time. But when we went to high school... speaker-3: Yeah. speaker-8: That bond was formed and a lot of it was because of basketball and those things that Susan talked about with the values. And we had the same values, we had the same passions. And so we also had a lot of the same zest for life and for doing what I call mischievious things. So there are things that we cannot talk about. I can tell you that right now. But there are also some things that are just mischievous. And I don't know if you want to start with something Sheryl or not. You know, I don't want to steal your thunder either because We've got some good ones. speaker-2: the tag on to what Rose said, because it was one of my most fun memories with Rae Anne was we would, we'd have the keys and we'd make a phone to two or three people and up to the gym and there'd be probably 20 people up there, guys and girls. So what dad didn't know though, is sometimes we'd pull the trampoline out ⁓ and get that trampoline and ⁓ jump and to slam dunk the ball. And so we had to start thinking, okay, wait a second. We don't want to run the opportunity that we have to play basketball every Saturday, Sunday, no supervision hardly at all. And we didn't run the school and things. We went up there and we played basketball. had fun and it carried over into our adult life. think we did that. Kari, I remember you going up, right? Anytime we were in, you you're in town as adults, we'd take all our kids up. So those just. fun memories, good memories, things that, you we're not getting in trouble. speaker-0: One of the fun memories that I had is when Stacey and I and then other youth group members from First Baptist Leander went to Super Summer at Baylor and went to church camp and I just have fond memories of that going there and just getting away from here and feeling so independent there but being on big campus and... And then just learning about the Lord. And I can just remember even the journals that we got, the super summer journals and just journaling when we got that from Super Summer. But I mean, that was super cool that I remember doing with Stacey and rooming together in the dorms at Baylor. speaker-2: Yeah. Well, we're going to transition into stories that we had fun, but maybe we got into a little trouble in the process. And I'm going to go ahead and start it off right at the edge of our town. The government had some cable cars that they would use to measure Cibolo Creek. And it was strictly for the government's use. It was on private property. There were no trespassing signs everywhere, but we just found it somehow. And so we would ran and me and... Well, everybody that went to Clemens that knew about it will go out there and ride the cable cars. it was just one ⁓ was on one side and you'd get in this bucket and then they would push you off. You couldn't see where you're going. And then all of a you'd get to the other side and you'd have to start pulling yourself up. And anyway, it was a lot of fun. know, no, nobody was out there drinking. not that was with us. We were just out there having fun. And one day Rae Anne had taken a group out. In her white Dodge pickup, I took a group out in a gray ghost and Ram was a little. I will always say, Rae Anne was a little smarter than me all the time. She'd park before the gate that said no trespassing. And either I was too lazy to walk or whatever. I drove straight up, parked right where the cable cars were. So we were all going back and forth and the police come. Everybody scatters, running different And I'm just like, don't know what to do. My dad's truck's over there. And finally the police gets on the... The loudspeakers said, well, the owner of the gray pickup, come out with your hands up. I was like, ⁓ gosh. So they had all left in gray and everybody jumped their hands truck is like, we're out of here. We're not getting in trouble. So they made me drive his truck to the Selma police department and park while they went inside and called my dad. So my dad was, had to come up and will not bail me out because I was probably 16 years old. But anyway, I don't know if I learned my lesson, but that was a fun. Memories that we got in a little bit of trouble not much but a little bit speaker-5: Did y'all know that dad and Hubert took me out there after that happened and pushed me on that cable car in the middle and dad had to get out there and bring me back because I guess I didn't weigh enough for it to go all the way across. ⁓ speaker-2: Thank speaker-3: But the question is, where did they park? speaker-2: True. speaker-5: I don't remember that part. I think I was crying because I was stuck. speaker-3: don't know if Rose was in this or not. Rose, might, if you weren't, just say, ⁓ yeah, I was. But what I remember, this is what I remember. Do you remember when we snuck into the boys dressing room? You don't remember that? Okay. It was several, it was several basketball players. And I thought that ⁓ Rose and Leslie were in on that. I mean, we didn't do anything. We just snuck in and I think we. speaker-7: I don't remember. Good answer. speaker-3: We're gonna just move shoes around to other lockers and just, you know, have fun. And we thought we got away with it. And I guess someone must have seen us go out and reported them to my dad and we had to go to the office. So Rose, you got out of that. speaker-7: I I always got in trouble because I went off campus for lunch and I parked in Rand's dad, who was the assistant principal, parked in his parking place. So it was kind of obvious whose car was in the, so they pulled me into the office and they pretended to give me licks. They made me stand up and your dad's static. didn't learn my lesson. kept leaving campus. So it was good. speaker-2: So. speaker-6: Thank you. speaker-3: All I remember too, and Rae Anne and Sheryl and Rose will remember this, and this is just ⁓ not a trouble memory, but Coach Leonard and his coffee cigarette breath. ⁓ driving the bus. my goodness. And just, he would get this far from you and talk and you were just like, trying not to pass out ⁓ the cigarette smoke smell and the coffee. ⁓ sweet memory. speaker-7: Bus, driving the bus. speaker-5: Mine includes Rae Anne. ⁓ There's a little triangle thing going there, but Shelly was there too, but she was more of a mother during that time. ⁓ It was the summer after I graduated and we went to the Lake House. you remember? Russell had brought all of his fraternity brothers there and there was a whole bunch of us there. And we went dancing. ⁓ speaker-4: ⁓ speaker-2: Still is. speaker-0: Yes, I do. speaker-5: I think that's what it's called. And we were in my Mustang I just got, and I think that there was Bartles and James in there, there, somehow included, which we didn't drink. don't know what. But somebody had to go to the bathroom and I don't remember who it was. It wasn't you or I, and we had to pull over and the police pulled up and they were going to take us or call our parents. And Rae Anne happened to drive by and picked us up. Do you remember that Rae Anne? speaker-6: Dayz speaker-0: See and I didn't. speaker-8: Hahaha! speaker-0: Russell and Stuart were with us. We were so scared. So scared. Thank God we weren't doing anything wrong. We didn't get in trouble, but somebody may have gotten an MIP in that car, but it wasn't us. speaker-3: Thank speaker-6: Yeah. speaker-5: No. We were- I do remember that. you for getting back to the lake house in Ray Ann's car. speaker-0: Yes. My memory was being, well, involved, we were involved with the FCA and I actually, Shelly, I think you were the president of the FCA at this time. And so we went over to Stacey's house and we had our fellowship of Christian athletes activities. And then I don't know whose idea it was to go ding dong ditch as part of our FCA gathering. speaker-7: . speaker-5: Shelly. Probably Shelly. Wake up. speaker-0: Probably we go to the block behind y'all's house and we go up to some man's door. I don't know if you remember this Stacey. And I go and knock on the door and we ran and got behind a car and the man comes up to the door with a gun. ⁓ what started out as funny, we were scared and we're just behind that car under that car. My heart is beating out of my chest. I think we went straight back to your house. No, I don't think I've ever done it again. No, I don't remember who our sponsor was, but I know who our president was and I don't know why our president would have allowed that. speaker-5: Probably both. speaker-2: Hey, that's just. speaker-0: We had to re- speaker-4: I'm going to tell on Stacey. Lisa can tell us what the name of the convenience store was. We ate so many penny candy, but I guess one day Stacey didn't have a penny. So she decided to take the candy. And when we got out of the store, she goes, look what I've got. And of course me being me. speaker-6: The Lone Star Ice House. speaker-2: Question. speaker-4: said, get your butt back in there and tell him what you've done. speaker-5: Mother, my mother. speaker-4: You speaker-8: Such a young age. speaker-2: You speaker-4: Mmm. ⁓ speaker-2: So I'm better on that. speaker-5: I haven't stole candy in a long time. speaker-2: I think you're on like a three year streak or something. speaker-3: Nopes. speaker-6: we doing the golf balls that we took apart from Anita's dad and the rubber bands that we would stretch between the light pole and the car handle on Mr. Kovorsos' car? So we would take these golf balls and we'd cut them open, they're full of the rubber bands, and we'd wrap them around those poles in the car. then when the car, we do it really fast because the cars were coming up and down the street and they would hit those rubber bands. speaker-2: ⁓ my gosh, I love that. speaker-6: And we also would pull off those big, uh, the cottonwood tree, think it was, Mr. Wicks's tree. And we would pull those little balls off and lay them across the road and cars would drive up pops and they would ping, ping, ping, ping, ping everywhere. They were so mad. Oh yeah. That's the worst. think I remember. I'll go with that. speaker-5: ⁓ my god, I was like, you're so mad. speaker-2: Yeah speaker-4: involved Stacy falling out of Lisa's tree. speaker-6: ⁓ yeah, Brogon. speaker-4: and I was like, don't tell mom and dad because they're gonna be so mad. speaker-6: And they won't let us climb in the tree anymore. speaker-4: Right. speaker-5: Yeah, I went like a week with a broken foot with dad telling me to walk it off. speaker-3: Rubs. some speaker-2: Dirt on it. speaker-4: Okay. speaker-5: And then finally they had to go and fix it. So yeah. I think I jumped. I don't think I fell. I think I jumped. Because we used to jump off of things all the time. Y'all remember off the roof with the screens? speaker-6: No. You're on Maple, right? Yeah. I remember that. I do remember jumping off the roof a lot. speaker-5: Yeah. speaker-4: That way you see. speaker-5: that, too. speaker-6: I don't remember what we used, but I do remember jumping off the roof a lot. Yeah. A lot. speaker-4: way more than would be normal. speaker-2: Yes, we're going to move on to, ⁓ if you had to pick one song that would identify your friendship, what would it be? speaker-5: just want to have fun. speaker-3: You're so funny. speaker-2: Don't sing it because we don't have the rights to that music. speaker-5: They wouldn't be able to tell if I sang it anyways. speaker-0: Cindy Lauper fan, big time. speaker-3: ⁓ yeah. Mine would be Michael W. Smith, friends are friends forever. speaker-0: Stacey. speaker-5: We used to sing that to each other. mean, not to each other, but... speaker-0: Yes, love that friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them and a friend will not say never because the welcome will not end. There is time to let you go in the Father's hands we know but a lifetime's not too long to live as friends. But I did find out that because I thought that's really a sad song but when I looked up like why did Michael W Smith write that? It was because they had a really close group of people that used to do Bible study together and one of the guys was going to have to move out of town. so they wrote that song, one of the girls in Bible study wrote that song in 30 minutes and then Michael W Smith wrote the composed in three and a half minutes. Well, that's speaker-3: That's cool. And really kind of for all of us, that's kind of how we all are. mean, yes, you we've all gone different ways and moved to different places and are doing different things. But the fact that we can still come together just shows that the Lord is the Lord over them. And I love that. speaker-4: My song for Lisa and I would be the theme song from Friends, which is a little bit on the nose. But just due to the fact that we have remained friends for 58 years, despite the fact of being, I Googled it, a thousand miles apart for the last 32, I believe. It's just the part of the lyrics is, I'll be there for you when the rain starts to pour. I'll be there for you like I've been there before. I'll be there for you because you're there for me too. And Lisa, within the last three years lost her mom and you know, I hadn't seen her in quite a few years, but I knew I needed to be down there. So I think that that song is a great example of our friendship. speaker-5: No. speaker-6: Sweet. Yeah, wonderful. speaker-7: was the same as ⁓ towards Susan, I'll be there for you. mean, I was in Susan's wedding and driving home, I ended up getting engaged. So I guess everything Susan did, I would follow. speaker-2: Stop. speaker-3: No. speaker-7: So yeah, mean, plus, you know, parents are aging and, you know, I know we've shared some things about that. And when Mike, my husband passed away, y'all were there for me. So it was just, you know, the grace of God giving us the friendship that we have with all of y'all. Actually the whole Rouse family, y'all have been blessed. yeah. speaker-2: Mine for Rae Anne would be that's what friends are for because it says through good we have a lot of good times. Through bad times, there's been some bad times. mean, there's been some death and there's been, you know, just ups and downs. I'll be by your side. I think that even though we're not ⁓ each other as far as geographically, it still remains true. good. I almost forgot I was leading this thing. speaker-8: So. speaker-2: Sorry I got all sentimental there. Okay. This has been a great episode of just bringing back memories of our childhood. Until next week, when we're doing our second part of childhood friendship, remember that life is messy, meaningful, and better when shared. speaker-3: Don't forget to like us. speaker-2: Share. speaker-4: Comment! speaker-5: Subscribe. Bye. ⁓ speaker-1: I've to let you go, in the father's hands We know that a lifetime's not too long To live as friends God's given Spring from the hook, we know We'll pray that you're living is the string that now you show. But we'll keep you close as always. It won't even seem you've gone. Cause our hearts in big and small ways. Strong To live as friends