Ginger Cheadle was one of my sister Denise’s best friends. They would often double date for such major events as their high school proms and other dances (as in the picture of Homecoming 1993 at right). Although I usually paid no mind to many of her friends when we were growing up, the age gap began to be bridged once Denise and her friends became upper-classmen and began to graduate. Ginger soon became one of my favorites of her friends. Pretty, smart, nice, and exceptionally easy to torment, I showed my affection for Ginger by teasing her whenever the opportunity arose. I also began calling her “Geen-Gurr” (hard G’s) and taught Ashleigh that that was her actual name.
I remember one day circa 1993 when Ginger was over to see Denise and I had Ashleigh over staying with me. Somehow Denise ended up leaving and left Ginger at our house for me to hang out with. I ended up getting Ashleigh to go berserk and attack Ginger for about thirty minutes solid. It was all in fun of course and one of the first times that I realized that Denise and I were getting to the age where we could share the same friends.
In early 2007 after I began the task of tracking down some of my old freinds, I inspired Denise to do the same. Naturally one of the first friends she found through Classmates.com was Ginger, now happily married to her high school sweetheart Stephen Kronenthal, living in Keller, Texas near Fort Worth, and having recently given birth to her second daughter Kaylee in September. Soon afterward, I dropped Ginger a note and was relieved that she had forgiven and forgotten all of my ‘harsh’ treatment and teasing over the years. We have kept in touch off and on every since.
Kaylee and Alexis as Kojak and Elwood Blues
Ginger and Denise together again
Geen-Gurr meets her old arch nemesis
During the Fall of 2007, Denise had the opportunity to not only see Ginger when she returned to the Dayton area to celebrate the first birthday of her daughter Kaylee, but their other old friend Aspen Foerch. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity of seeing any of them.
But Ginger and her family returned to Dayton for the birthday celebration of their oldest little girl Alexis - and Denise, Ashleigh, Adam, and I stopped by Ginger’s parents’ house on Saturday, February 16, to visit for the party. It was fun to see her little girls and to catch up a bit with her. I could relate to our discussion about dealing with four-year olds since Jackie’s little girl Grace has become a big part of my life. We stayed for a couple of hours and by the end of our visit, some of that traditional Brad/Denise silliness had rubbed off and we have the pictures to prove it.
Silly mode kicks in
Ginger looms over us all
Ashleigh, Denise, Ginger, and me…why? I don’t know
I’ll be traveling in Texas in April and although it might be hard to find any extra time, I will definitely make an effort to hook up with Ginger and Stephen when we are in the Fort Worth area. They are quite a fun and colorful little family and I’m glad to have Ginger as a friend again.
Return to February 2008…
Continue to the next reunion…
How fun!
Amber
February 21st, 2008
I’m flattered!! It was great to see you and hopefully we can catch lunch or something when you are in our neck of the woods.
Ginger
February 22nd, 2008