Day 25 - Diane Andreano Butler, Tampa, Florida

While Sandy was checking her Facebook, she received a message from a grade school/high school friend, Diane Andreano Butler, who saw that we were in Florida. Diane asked where we were and suggested maybe we could get together. We saw that she was in the Tampa area, so made arrangements for an early lunch. We met at a Chili’s in Tampa which was not far from where the Yankees were playing an exhibition game.

Diane was able to take a long lunch break from work so we had plenty of time to visit. We spent most of our time visiting and, uncharacteristically, less time eating. As a result both Sandy and Diane took left-overs home. The time went by quickly as they caught up on each other’s lives and talked about the classmates each kept in touch with. Sandy and Diane met in elementary school and way back then were known as “Mutt and Jeff” – she was always short and Sandy was always tall. So, whenever they were together, the contract was pretty evident. As you can see from the picture, they still are!

Diane came down to Florida about 25 years ago. Her folks followed her down and still live about 30 minutes from her. She has one daughter who married recently. She likes the area and gave a definite “No!” when we asked her if she ever thought about going back to Connecticut. As they visited and shared events in their lives, there was no doubt that the friendship they shared as classmates has spanned the years.