THE GOLDEN GIRLS

We four young ladies all have long blond hair except Josie, who fakes it. She’s pretty careful though and touches up her dark roots every week. Not one of us has had our hair shortened in 8 years, but do have it shaped and styled in over one eye, tapered, cropped, twisted- whatever is new and becoming. As a group, we turn heads when we walk down the street, get on an elevator. We are not self conscious and ignore the envious looks. We are simply ourselves, pretty women with flair who have been close friends since childhood and feel almost like quadruplet sisters. We call ourselves The Golden Girls. Often we buy the similar clothes, particularly sun hats. The golden sun is fabulous but destroys our hair, part of our perhaps snobby pride.

For Christmas 2005 we got together to decided on gifts and chose to give each other identical gold bracelets to signify our bond. I thought a link bracelet is too masculine. Sherry has one. Margo wanted something simple, engraved inside. Margo wanted her birth stone set in.Discussions, not arguments, ended with a vote for the plain bracelet engraved with ‘The Golden Girls’ inside. The jeweler gift wrapped them individually, as well he should, considering he had a nice $600 sale and he does the engraving. I wear mine constantly, to bed, to shower, add something else for a special occasion. Having it on me makes me feel warm and connected.

Thursday evenings are always the best of the week. We do a pot luck supper, rotating apartments, then watch re-runs of the ‘Golden Girls’ for an hour on channel 7 and ½ hour of other oldies on 302. The lines are all familiar. I usually mouth Betty’s parts as I am considered the ding-a-ling of our group. It’s uproarious. When it is over, we all go in the kitchen and have cheese cake.

In the spring we are taking a short trip to Vegas. Our four gold bracelets don’‘t set off the airport security buzzer. Our hotel isn’t The Venetian because we have to stay at the more shoddy Golden Nugget. I’m not much of a gambler, stay away from the tables, throw my quarters into the money eating slots. The girls always wait for three empty seats together at the black jack tables. A crowd forms around them. They may bring good luck! They are applauded when they do well and mouths drop when they lose. We have set a limit of stopping when we lose $100 each nite. Their limits are filled quickly and they walk around watching other tables while I am breaking my arm at the slots. My new muscle feels like I have eaten a ton of spinach. Way in the back of the elongated room there are nickel slots and my three friends have fun there.

It’s night five and I have squandered less than $100 so far, what with the win a few, lose a few. I pull the bandit’s arm down faster and faster. Suddenly I realize, I am looking at five golden apples. Bells ring, lights flash, quarters fall out so quickly I can’t catch them in my skirt. An assistant rushes to me with a stack of plastic buckets. I slip off my chair as I try to catch the coins. My girls protect me, keep the losers who want some of my money away. When I have recovered somewhat from the shock and get all the buckets to the cashier, I find out I have won five thousand dollars.

I give each of my wonderful friends $500 cash so they come out clean.They argue with me, don’t want to take my money. I am stubborn, defiant, and insist. I smile and say to them, ‘This is what friends do. Take the money and shut up.’ They do, hug me and say ‘Thanks.

I hire a limo to drive us to the airport.