SNAPSHOTS

Joni Bramon and Suzanne "Suz" Giesler have been close friends and soul sisters for five years. One of their shared joys is traveling together. Their first trip was in the spring of 2003 while Joni was living in Spain and told Suz she would meet her anywhere in Europe if she would come. They met in Amsterdam and spent three weeks traveling by train through Belgium, France and Spain.

When Suz was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago, they decided to plan a trip once her doctors gave permission. Suz is an avid road biker and organizes Boone Hospital’s "Chain Gang" each year for the MS 150. One of Joni’s three sisters lives in Amsterdam, so the duo thought they could save money by living in her apartment and taking bike trips around the Netherlands with Amsterdam as their base.

In December, Suz had a health scare, which turned out not to be valid, but which rekindled a longtime dream of hers: traveling to China. She began browsing bookstores, poring over pictures, wondering if it could happen. Finally, she approached Joni, and because Joni has a sense of adventure, she agreed to change their plans. Instead of Amsterdam, China would be their destination.

Though still undergoing treatment, Suz didn’t want to wait, so on May 5, a day after her 33rd birthday, she and her faithful companion set off with a general outline of where they were headed yet allowing for spontaneity. Thousands of miles from takeoff in St. Louis, the travelers immersed themselves in Chinese culture for three weeks. Relationships sprouted around every corner, perhaps the most special being on the streets of Yangshuo when a group of young Chinese students asked to take their photos and they ended up spending the evening together.

Visiting the family of friends was an added delight. On the second night, they ferried to Macau and the island of Coloane to spend time with Jackie Verdun Baugher’s brother J.J. and his Chinese wife, Iris, feasting on Macanese cuisine in an open-air restaurant. Also, friends Jenny and Zhil, owners of Columbia’s Osaka Restaurant, connected the girls with family in Suzhou.

Biking was a central part of the trip, from the muddy, narrow footpaths bordering rice fields in the countryside to the hectic streets of Beijing where bikers compete with zooming taxis and buses. A narrow pathway from the Mui Wo community on Lantau Island took them to an isolated, amazing waterfall where they bathed in their clothes! Another Kodak moment was stopping for a while to play cards, read and laugh in the rubble of a watch tower along the Great Wall during a 10 kilometer hike from Jinshanling to Simatai.

As promised, they also honored the memory of a mutual friend who passed away recently from lung cancer. The last time Joni and Suz saw her, she asked them to take some of her ashes to China, a part of five services celebrating her life.

Joni says Suz’s strength was amazing and inspiring, and both are grateful for the laughter and tears they’ve shared through time, especially during this great Asian adventure. The Lord willing, they will both go back.

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Rather than have a surprise birthday party that is seldom a surprise anyway, Nellie Symm-Gruender decided to have a "Baby Boomer Birthday Bash" for her husband, Eugene Gruender Jr., and all his friends who would be turning 60 this year.

With the help of Jeanine Perkins, who graduated with Gene, they were able to locate some of his Hickman High School classmates to join the celebration; some had known each other since grade school. Nellie, from Decatur, Ill., said she is constantly amazed how many of Gene’s friends have remained in or returned to Columbia. That’s because we’re one of the best places to live in the country, Nellie.

The get-together was held May 20 at the Gruender home, located between Sturgeon and Harrisburg, with 40 people — not all turning 60 — in attendance. "Crazy" Charley Blackmore, who graduated a year earlier than the honorees, provided the music while guests leafed through their 1964 Cresset yearbooks reminiscing about places they went that aren’t around anymore, the cars they had and who they took for rides in them, and many shared "teacher stories."

Kewpies enjoying this trip down memory lane along with Gene were Larry Coleman, Larry McAfee, Darold Davis, Henry and Jeanine Perkins, Gary McGruder, Linda Hudson and David McBride. Each person celebrating a birthday got to place a candle in their birth month on a special Kewpie calendar birthday cake. Instead of exchanging gifts, everyone was asked to bring a donation for either the Central Missouri Humane Society or Rainbow House.

They might be getting "up there," but at the end of the evening everyone agreed the boomers still know how to party. In fact, part of this special day’s fun was sharing what they planned to do for the next 60 years!

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In operation since 1955, the object of the Columbia Women’s Club, as set out in its constitution, is "to unite its members for study, sociability and service." On May 7, sociability was the only object when 14 members and their husbands gathered for a rootin’ tootin’ barbecue at Indian Mountain, Marilyn and Jack Mohatt’s farm located on the bluffs of the Missouri River above Wilton.

Cowpokes outnumbered the Indians, though, and denim ruled as everyone dressed in Western garb, some authentic enough to win prizes. Enjoying the grub, guitar strummin’, piano playin’, singin’ and dancin’ along with the hosts were Carol and Gary Smith, Jean and Clark Stewart, Peggy and Ron Anderson, Bonnie and Jerry Brouder, Dacie Cowles and Gop Rao, Jackie and Jack Cruise, Bonnie and Don Foster, Suzanne and Bob McDavid, Millie and John McGowan, Betty and Rich Montgomery, Vi and Eugene Powell, Julie and Don Walker, and Jeanie and Ron Wright.

Among the prize winners were Jean Stewart for best Western ladies attire; Bob McDavid and Gary Smith for best Western hats; and Jerry Brouder for best mustache.

The club has two events a year — a formal and a casual, although a lot of dressin’ up was evident in this roundup. And it was a good opportunity for Jack Mohatt to show off his favorite toy, a 4-wheel Kawasaki "mule" that he used to give guests a tour of the farm.