By Michael Eng | Managing Editor
As the election draws closer, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to endure media of any kind.
The incessant ramblings of AM talk radio, the talking heads on television and the bombardment of stories and video clips online have me — a journalist — longing for unplugged silence. If you believed everything you heard or viewed, you’d be convinced the world is ending no matter who wins the presidential nomination.
And that’s precisely why I want to tell you a story — set right here in Plant City — that embodies everything that is right in this world.
This story starts with a phone call from Plant City resident Mary Fales, a co-founder of a group called the Sligh Junior High School Lunch Bunch. It’s a group of students who attended the newly built school in the early 1950s. Some members have known each other since kindergarten.
And in 2012 — more than a half-century later — the old friends meet every other month at Buddy Freddy’s.
Since their school days, Fales, Patty Curry, of Frostproof, and Jane Duren, of Thomasville, Ga., had stayed in touch through phone calls, cards and the occasional visit.
In January, Curry called Fales and said, “Start making a list of everyone you can remember from Sligh, because we just have to get everybody together again.”
MORE LIKE FAMILY
“It’s been a few years,” Jonnie (Ballard) Miley says as she embraces Fales at the group’s September meeting. “We’re not going to count!”
This is Miley’s first luncheon, and she is among the first to arrive. In 30 minutes, the entire room is filled with Sligh alumni. Many are regular luncheon attendees, but each time, there are some new faces, as well.
Marty Rushing met her husband, Don, on a blind date.
“My friend lied to me and said he wasn’t in the military,” Marty remembers. “He was — he was in the Air Force.”
Furthermore, he was a Yankee Catholic, while Marty was a Southern Baptist.
But, it didn’t matter, Marty says. It was love at first sight. And throughout their marriage, the Rushings traveled all over the world. But home, they say, is right here, with their oldest friends.
“It is so nice to have a home base,” Marty says.
In her school days, Marty was one of a trio of friends who called themselves “Schmee” (Marty), “Schmu” (Shirley Patterson) and “Schmo” (Fales).
Curry’s memories of Sligh include a life-changing moment.
“When I went to Sligh, I was put in band, and I was completely separate (from my friends),” she tells classmate Jackie Burts. “I cried every day. And one day, I remember leaving band, and you came and held my hand. I was petrified, and you just came in and held my hand.
“I’ll never forget that,” she says.
Tears well up in Burts’ eyes as she hears the story.
“Honestly, (the secret to long-lasting friendships) is genuinely caring about people and how they feel,” she says. “We are all more like family (than friends).”
A GOOD ERA
A smile spreads across Fales’ face as she peruses dozens of photos her classmates have brought to this month’s luncheon. About 30 classmates fill the tables, and Fales is always looking for ways to add more.
“At every meeting, someone will recall a name from our Sligh days , and then the hunt is on to try to locate them and invite them to rejoin our Sligh ‘family,’” she says. “Our meetings are filled with fun, good food and lots of laughter as we recall tales from ‘back in the day.’”
Fales says the ultimate goal is to host a large reunion of all Sligh classmates during those years. She currently is piecing together display boards featuring photos and other memorabilia.
“We’re looking at March at Boggy Bottom (Event Ranch),” Fales says.
Classmate Ginger Lynn King says she can’t wait.
“We were all very naive,” she remembers. “We had a good time (back then). … It was a good era.”