It all began with a perfect Martini…
“Martini’s are the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet”
H.L Mencken
Friendships, I have found, start in all kinds of ways. One of my best friends and I joke about having met on the Kindergarten Play ground. It is true, we did meet on the kindergarten play ground, our daughters Kindergarten play ground but still…. I have a set of friends who I have known since I was 13. We call ourselves the Puberty to Menopause and beyond group. There are 5 women and Tom…. there must be a reason they call it “men-o-pause”
The friends I have collected throughout the years have been diverse to say the least. They have come from all over the world, spoken different languages, had different talents, interests, politics, religions, and beliefs. They have varied in age from 10-30 years older than me to 10 -30 years younger than me.
Some of the best friends I have ever had, were the friends I inherited when my mother died. My mother was also a collector of friends. I learned everything I know about being a friend and having a friend from my mother. I have found that some friends are only for a season, then there are those friends, the dearest and most valuable who are friends for life. One of my newest friends, Mary, has a toast she always gives when we are together “There are good ships and there are wood ships, there are ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships and may they always be.”
It is my friend Connie for which this blog and website are written. Ours is a friendship that started with the perfect martini; “Ray’s Famous Lemon Drops”. Ray and Connie just celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary. They have lived in the house across the street from our home for more than 30 years. They have watched the neighborhood grow and change and people come and go. My grandmother built our home in 1962 and I have been coming here since I was born in 1969, I guess it would be safe to say Ray and Connie also watched me grow up here. Ours was a casual wave or shout of hello from across the street until that beautiful day in June 2020 when Ray welcomed us to the neighborhood with those delicious Lemon Drops.
I don’t think I had ever had a lemon drop before. Truth be told, I really wasn’t much of a drinker and I certainly wasn’t experimental in my choice of drinks. As a general rule I would only drink an alcoholic beverage if the alcohol was undetectable. Good thing for me, Ray’s lemon drops go down like sweet, sweet lemonade. Bad thing for me, Ray’s lemon drops go down like sweet, sweet lemonade. Ray always hands his lemon drops over with a strict warning that they are for sipping not gulping. I, as well as others (who shall remain nameless) have learned the hard way how easily two, then three lemon drops go down and how quickly their effects will sneak up on you. Those lemon drops have been the down fall, or more accurately the cause of falling down for many of us.
You know what they say…When Life gives you Lemons…Make Lemon Drops
Ray’s Famous Lemon Drops
2 Cups of Vodka
2 1/2 Cups of On The House Sweet and Sour Mix (This, is what I believe sets Ray’s lemon drops a part from all others)
2 Shots of Triple Sec
Juice from 1 large or two small lemons.
“Stir & Get Drunk” Ray
Ray & Connie on their 57th Wedding Anniversary
