Priceless!

 Spring break 2014 reunion with Trisha Holmes Conrad

It’s really true. The best things in life are free. Especially good memories and good friends. 

It would be impossible to put a price tag on the value of friendship, but if I had to give it a dollar value, I’d say Infinity. Hmmm…that’s not a dollar amount. How about One Trillion Dollars? Yes, that sounds about right.

This past spring break we went on a road trip down south which included a visit to see one of my favorite people of all time. My long lost roommate from the University of Alabama, Trisha Holmes Conrad. Trisha saved my life many moons ago when I was a transfer student at the University of Alabama. The people in Student Housing actually placed me in a dorm room that turned out to be a utility closet. No windows and no way to lock the door from the inside. I lasted one night before going to student housing and demanding my money back…and they gave it to me. Yikes! Now what? This was an era before cell phones, let alone smart phones. My best hope for finding a place to live was to go to the Student Union to see if someone might be looking for a roommate. 

I know I must have a guardian angel looking out for me because I was incredibly lucky to come across a notice from a young woman needing someone to share an apartment. Trisha, my angel, picked me up at the Student Union and drove me to our new home. It was wonderful. Tennis courts, swimming pool, walk-in closet…and less than the cost of the dorm. But the greatest gift of all was my new friend, Trisha.

                                             In our apartment with my sorority sister, Tish Poole

Spring break 1992

The last time I saw Trisha was more than 20 years ago on another road trip down south with my mom and two sons. I was so excited to see her that I locked the car with the keys in it while the engine was still running. My boys said I did it on purpose so I’d have more time with Trisha. (I wish I were that smart.) It was soooo great to see her, but then we lost touch again and I couldn't find her. I had also forgotten her married name which didn't help things. Lucky for me I came across an old Christmas card from Trisha that included her married name and last known address. After doing an internet search I found her in Telluride, Colorado. She was working at an Inn, but every time I called nobody knew who she was. Finally my persistence paid off and someone answered the phone who actually knew her. Trisha had moved back to Birmingham, Alabama and was working at the Tutwiler Hotel. When I did my next internet search to see if I could find her phone number in Birmingham, her name came up in an obituary for her mother who had died only a day or two earlier. So incredibly sad. Trisha had been kind enough to take me home with her when we were roommates and I was able to meet her mother and daddy and her younger brother Phil.  Such wonderful people and so kind to allow a Yankee into their home.

Our entourage, Eileen Paulson, Trisha, Dan McQuaid (patient husband) and KC McQuaid

Looking back on spring break there were so many things that were memorable, but the highlight for me was seeing Trisha. How funny to go so many years without seeing each other and then falling right back into the comfort of a hug from a good friend. Absolutely priceless.