Judy IS the Good Stuff

Gather 'round ladies and gents and feast your eyes upon the ENCHANTED and MOST EXCELLENT Judy Lawrence, who turns 35 today. I've known Judy since we were wee lassies in the second grade. My earliest memory of Judy was when she brought her unclothed babydoll to school and it had two things going for it: It was seriously anotomically correct and it was seriously A BOY. This was a babydoll with a little something ELSE going on, and therefor, Judy was suddenly someone to me who had a little something going on. She has remained to me as someone VERY WORLDLY indeed.

She always has had a FUNNY ASS sense of humor that has kept us all in stitches. I remember once, during a slumber party, she used my Snoopy bathingsuit to display what projectile vomiting looked like, by wadding it into her mouth and PROJECTILING it. We all laughed our asses off, but I could never bring myself to dress my Snoopy in that bathingsuit again.

Whenever I see her I am always afraid that I am going to come off like a STALKER because, I can't stop asking her where she bought some hot item of clothing. 98% of the time the answer will be Target, but Judy, I've been to Target and while they have some good deals, NONE OF THEM make me look as COOL as YOU. DANG!

She's always played the sort of SAGE roll in our group of friends. I have a completely made up image of Judy in my mind, sitting very zen like on a wall, while we all go to her for answers to the universe. It shouldn't have been a surprise when she drove across the country a number of years ago, and started to write about her experiences, that we discovered that she was a writer of considerable gifts. It was like seeing this whole new view of someone you've known for 20 years. They speak, and out comes beautiful beautiful music. Judy's writing is like her, very smart, very funny, and sometimes so shockingly creative, it takes your breath away.

Have I also mentioned that she is amazingly loyal and loving? She has five nieces and nephews who are all blessed by her care, her abilities as a teacher, and her humor.

Our group of friends is very rare, in that we've all stayed friends for nearly thirty years. She once signed a group e-mail to her wide range of friends, "If it were up to me, you would all get all the good stuff."

Judy, you ARE the good stuff.

Happy Birthday.