If Stones Could Talk... Coupled With Some Baby Talk: An Evening to Remember

Nearly forty years ago two eighteen-year-old girls from small towns found themselves in the same elevator on "Moving In" day at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. They were nervous freshmen who had come to the big "city" from small towns: one from Florida, the other from Indiana. One of the girls had her mother and father with her, the other was accompanied by her mother and grandmother. No one can remember who spoke first, but the girls were soon laughing over the fact that they shared the same first name, and then they laughed some more when it was discovered that the two girls with the same name were going to be living next door to one another for the next year.
Thus began a friendship that has now spanned nearly forty years. When the phone rings, and I hear a shortened version of my maiden name, I know that it can only be one of two people in the world on the other end: my friend or her husband. We rarely go by our given names. She is "Ru" to me -- a shortened version of her maiden name, and I am "Scof," a shortened version of mine. Our lives have been intertwined since that fateful meeting in the elevator, and the connection was solidified when my boyfriend (now The Husband) and I set her up on a blind date with his best friend. The rest, as they say, is history. We have been married for thirty-seven years, and they have been married for thirty-three.
We were honored to be the guests of this couple at a beautiful party recently. They were the Co-Chairs for an event that recognizes those who have made outstanding service contributions within the field of medicine at two local hospitals, St Thomas and Baptist. It was a lovely evening that showcased the singular beauty of Nashville's renowned Schermerhorn Symphony Center and the superb attention to detail by our hosts meant that no stone was left unturned. The food, the decor, and the flowers were stunning, but best of all was the fact that it was an evening spent with dear friends.