It seems as if every time I go out into the garage to look for something that I find something else. Yesterday I found ”The Yah-Yah Christmas Tree.”

I hadn’t seen it in years. Then when I picked up the tree some of its photos, and tiny pieces of plastic lettering held on by a string came apart. They ended up on the cold garage floor before I could rescue them.

I’d inherited the tree after the death of Alice Willis who’d made it for our Hennessey Yah-Yah Chapter sometime in the early 2000s.

The official unofficial Hennessey chapter started in late 1996, or maybe it was early 1997. It began after my Tecumseh newspaper bestie, Gloria, recommended one of her favorite southern authors. That was Rebecca Wells, and her book is: “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.”

When I started reading it one night I couldn’t put it down until early the next morning.

I fell in love with her characters, their friendships, and I immediately wanted to share it with friends. I told them about it during one of our every six-week Saturday trips to Stillwater for haircuts, lunch and shopping.

A few weeks later everyone had bought the book, and read it.

Later, I called for a group meeting, and of course, it was at Marj Anderson’s house. We always had to play at the high school English teacher’s house.

It was during that “called” meeting in the gazebo when I ceremoniously gave each Ya-Ya their titles.

There was Miss Priss (Alice Willis), Miss Direction (Marj), and Miss Know-it-All (Joy Shimanek). Miss Priss loved her name.

Miss Direction asked if hers referred to her driving, and always getting lost unless one of us was with her.

But Miss Know-it All didn’t say a word!. Not even after I explained it was because she was knowledgeable about everything from art to finances to cooking, and caring for grandkids, and everything.

Then later at her request, Joy was known as Miss Attitude, Then when I said my Ya-Ya name was Miss Fit they said in unison: “What?”

After all, they’d already accepted me as one of them, they said.

It should have been obvious, Alice said. After all, they’d worked together to hide a gigantic bra and huge red bikini underpants in my Walmart shopping cart before I checked out.

They loved it when I told the checker I had no idea how those got there, then I heard them laughing a few aisles away.

The three had years of friendship before Marj and I ever became friends, or before Alice and I were backseat buddies on all of our Stillwater trips. And, Joy was Marj’s next door neighbor who came over when I was there. She was smart-as-a-whip in so many different ways, and I was in awe.

A few years later Joy’s bestie, Clemy Gabriel, joined our trips, and was sworn in by me, of course. She was: Miss Sweetness and Light.

While looking at our lighted tree tonight I’m remembering and missing our Ya-Ya trips and meetings, and laughing and crying all at the same time. Alice had included individual photos of each of us on our Christmas tree, and also a photo of my big foot after I’d introduced them to toe rings.

There are also several “sayings” hanging on the tree, including this one from Alice: “When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.”

I’m unsure what an item titled “Marj’s Used Jeans” refers to, and unfortunately the other four Ya-Yas are angels now. However, I think it may be when we were shopping, and Marj tried on some jeans then left her old ones in the dressing room. She also left without paying for the new ones.

There is also an actual New Orleans voodoo doll on the tree.

But best item is a photo of Joy, Alice and me in monkey poises of “See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil.” That was part of the heading on Marj’s “I Can’t Believe I Said That” columns in The Clipper. It was our going away gift to her when she was moving to Edmond.

There are other memorable Ya-Ya photos, and some were taken by my son, Nick, who’d lived down the street from Marj. He was always ready to help out us crazy Ya-Yas, and Marj’s mom too, by taking our photos.

Right now I can almost hear Marj telling her 90-year-old mother, “Just put on the mask for the photo, Mom.”

At least she didn’t repeat one of our favorite Ya-Ya mottos to her: “No whining allowed.”

However, we did allow crying, but only if it came before, after, or during laughing. And, everyone was expected to participate. After all, we were Ya-Ya sisters!

Remembering The Hennessey Ya- Yas and Their Families

About These Hennessey Ya-Yas: Joy Shimanek (1935-08) farmed and ranched with her husband, David (aka Chuck), and was the office manager at Western Tank Trucks for many years. Alice Willis (1939-10) worked at the First National Bank, and was a legal secretary before that, and her husband, Roy, was a middle school principal. Clemy Gabriel (1936-23) farmed and ranched with her husband, Gabby, and she was a wedding planner and decorated at the Bison school and church, as well as Hennessey events. Marjorie Anderson (193223) was a columnist and feature writer for the Hennessey Clipper after she retired from teaching senior English in Hennessey for many years. She later wrote a column for the Edmond Sun, and had two books published. All were also super moms, and grandmothers – and are missed.