Sherrie Crandal, Lynn Hafer and I have a history that goes back to Loveland, Colorado in the late 70s and 80s—forty-five years ago. I chose to write about these two amazing women as a part of my salute to Women’s History Month.
Now—What We Do!
We joined the Zoom generation. Sherrie, Lynn and I have met monthly since the pandemic in late 2020. This monthly zoom conversation started first with Sherrie and I on September 6, 2020, then immediately we added Lynn on October 4, 2020 and we’re going strong ever since. During the pandemic, Lin (my husband) and I isolated completely at first, and by September, I needed to connect to my people. So, I started reminiscing about people from the past. Sherrie and I had connected on the phone; then Lynn was a natural to join us.
I want you to meet these two powerful women!
Lynn Hafer
My first husband and I stepped into our realtor’s office in Loveland, Colorado excited about the new chapter in our life. He had been selected to be a Colorado state patrolman based out of Loveland and we needed a house.
Lynn Hafer greeted us warmly. Our realtor wasn’t there—we had connected with someone on the phone and had an appointment with him. As we waited, we engaged in casual conversation with Lynn and church came up.
So Lynn added, “I go to All Saints Episcopal Church.” We were Episcopalian. We chuckled because my ex-husband’s mother had connected us to the priest there, Charlie Keen, and for a time, we were staying with them. We shared our information with Lynn which shocked her. We all got a chuckle out of what seemed to be a coincidence. Afterwards we saw her at church weekly and became fast friends.
In getting to know Lynn, we found out she loved to travel, and she shared valuable travel tips with us before we took our first trip to Mexico. Her tips came in handy for sure—my favorite: take an extra shower cap and put it over the faucet so you don’t accidentally drink the water. (It may be different now, but in the late 70s and early 80s, this was a Godsend because you couldn’t drink the water!)
After a trip to Mazatlán, my ex-husband I ventured to Cancun and loved it, still profiting from Lynn’s travel advice.
Lynn & My Travels Begin
Because Lynn and I had developed a good friendship, when my first husband and I divorced, it was a natural that she became my travel partner. And away we went! At this time, I was a college student on limited funds, so each trip I squeezed as much as I could out of a peso, and we had a blast!
Because we both had been to Cancun before, that became our first of many trips to the Cancun/Yucatan Peninsula. And adventure became our mainstay. On our first trip, we bought a special package for Cancun out of the Rocky Mountain News newspaper for around $300—airfare and hotel for a week. We didn’t read at the fine print.
After our arrival at the Cancun airport and hailing a taxi, we got in ready for Cancun. As we drive to the turn-off to go left to Cancun, our taxi driver went right. The rickety cab bounce and we responded. We showed him our package, thinking we were going to Cancun, and he reassured us we were going to Playa Del Carmen, not Cancun.
What I Learned
That whole trip became a lesson for both of us in patience and flexibility. Yes, we did have reservations at the Hotel Molcas in Playa Del Carmen, a gorgeous small fishing village with pigs roaming the beach, far from the crowded beaches of Cancun. Two friendly cruise line workers took us to dinner that night and gave us specific instructions on how to salvage our vacation: tomorrow morning get on the bus and go to Cancun, rent a car in Cancun and you will have the time of your lives.
And we followed their instructions, and that’s exactly what happened. In fact, Play Del Carmen became our planned destination for all of our travels to the Yucatan Peninsula.
In our returns to Playa Del Carmen, we ventured up and down the Yucatan Peninsula, seeing as many Mayan Indian ruins we could.
That love led to our final Mayan Indian ruin adventure in 1990: a trip to Guatemala to Tikal, the granddaddy of the all. I rewarded myself with that trip for getting my Masters degree. We rode the Batty Brother’s Bus Service with chickens and other live creatures. We saw and heard howler monkeys in the jungle. And we climbed Tikal to the top!
As we traveled together, we laughed, we ate outrageous food and did outrageous things. Lynn taught me to safely snorkel. We got “Pyramiditis,” from climbing up and down Mayan Indian ruins. Most of all, she taught me how to compromise and work in a relationship without holding grudges.
Because of Lynn’s encouragement, I pursued a minor in Spanish. We both dabbled in Spanish on any trip we took, and I realized how much I loved the language!
I am sad to say that Lynn witnessed some of my insane alcoholic behavior on our trips and never lectured me or condemned me.
In 2011, she flew to Albuquerque to be one of the bride’s maids at Lin and my wedding. In fact, she attended my second one too in 1992. What a devoted friend!
The last time I physically saw her was in 2018. My husband, Lin (interesting both Loves in my life are Lynn/Lin’s) and I spent a night with her after the Colorado State Square Dance festival. We had a delightful time.
Sherrie Crandal
My relationship with Sherrie has a whole different feel to it. I also met Sherrie at All Saints Episcopal Church in Loveland, Colorado in the early 80s. As a college student, I needed a roommate for my three-bedroom mobile home to help with my finances. As a single mother, Sherrie had a young child, Aaron, and they needed a place to live. It was perfect. My mobile home had my bedroom on one end of the mobile home and the other two bedrooms on the other end, so we enjoyed a lot of privacy.
During our time together, Sherrie worked hard to make ends meet. She was a loving mother and concentrated her time and effort on raising her son. I cherished her friendship and commitment to our church. Sherrie has a gorgeous voice and she sang in the choir at church.
For one Christmas, she drove me home to Branson, Colorado because I was sick with bad strep throat. As she drove, we watched the front ridge on our right as the clouds gathered and followed us. When we got to Branson, it snowed and snowed, and Sherrie and Aaron enjoyed the deep snow. My parents enjoyed sharing a country Christmas with them. Christmas Eve morning, Sherrie got up and baked a delicious traditional sweet—she’s a fantastic cook!
During our time together, Sherrie also witnessed my horrible alcoholic behavior. Never once, did she condemn me or lecture me.
Sherrie’s Move
I don’t remember a specific date when she moved to Arizona, but I kept sending Christmas cards and newsletters to stay connected through the years. She and Aaron also attended my second wedding in 1992.
We may not have stayed connect physically, but in my writing career since 2014, Sherrie has been one of my most ardent fans. In fact, in 2023, she ordered twenty copies of my book, Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir for Christmas presents. When I’ve asked my email list for volunteers to be on my ARC team (Advanced Reader Copies), she has volunteered quickly for my last two or three books. She often emails me Monday morning, after she receives my weekly blog post with a loving response.
Even though we didn’t see each other face-to-face until that fateful call or email to start our monthly Zoom calls, Sherrie and I had a connection.
After she left Colorado, she went to college to become a Special Education teacher, giving her love away to those students and educating them. I have so enjoyed to hear her talk about her classroom and students over the last five years of our calls—the teacher in me relishes a step back in time to my previous life and career.
Finally,
Each month I look forward to those two hours I’ve stashed away on a Saturday afternoon, to share my current life happenings with Sherrie and Lynn. We reminisce and laugh about the past. Often, I don’t remember stories told about me, but I enjoy the telling. We share our current church and faith experiences, sometimes praying on the spot for a need that came up. We also share current books and reading material. What a rich and fast two hours we share.
Last year we invited another woman we all knew at All Saints in Loveland, and she joined us yesterday. She easily fit in and we hope she joins us regularly.
The laughter, the joy, the tears—forty-five years of knowing each other! What a gift Sherrie and Lynn are to me! I know I could phone either one night or day, and they would be there for me! I know because of our forty-five years of love!
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