An Ode to Zuppie Sue

The next best thing to seeing my old friend Marilyn was having dinner with her husband last night. We met him at Raku in Bethesda since he is taking a week-long course at IBM in Gaithersburg. They live in San Francisco so we don’t see each other often.

Marilyn and I met when I was a freshman in college (and she was a grad student) because we both liked the same guy. He was the one who gave her the awful nickname of Zuppie Sue. We ended up liking each other better than either of us liked him. Since she was 4 years older than I was, she turned out to be a good life mentor for a naive only child.

I remember distinctly living with her the summer after my freshman year in a dump called Seminole Plaza. Memories of that summer include:
– Learning how to cook since my mother had done all the cooking and never taught me. This included basics like potato salad and spaghetti sauce.
– Listening to Dionne Warwick belt out “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” and Herb Alpert and the Tiajuana Brass all summer long.
– Learning how to drink and not get (too) smashed.
– Making out with my neighbor at a drive-in theater (the one I convinced to quit smoking before I would go out with him).
– Corrupting my boss's 16-year-old son.
– Watching Marilyn learn Cobol one lesson ahead of those of us who were in her class. She was a great teacher and fortunately for her a quick study.
– Having my 3-speed bike stolen.
– Hating to move back into a dorm in the fall.

Marilyn shared her car with me and treated me like I was her age. I knew I could always stay at her apartment if I needed a place.

Marilyn lived with her boyfriend Brian (the one I had dinner with) for years before they got married. My mother made a big deal about letting them share a bed in their unmarried state when they came to visit in PC. For heaven’s sake, she was so screwed up when it came to sex. Marilyn and Brian and I spent a lot of time together, especially in that summer of 1969 so long ago. I miss her.

When she was in town a few years ago, we contacted Joe, the guy we both liked who also lives here, and the three of us had lunch together. He was still the same old know-it-all and we both decided we had done a lot better in choosing a life partner. But thank you Joe for introducing Marilyn and me!