Nancy was bold and daring, carefree and extroverted, a collector of people.  Adventurous, impetuous she was ready to travel the world at a moment's notice whether it be in a sailboat crossing the Atlantic with her husband, Lynn, or on a day trip in her green Dodge she aptly named "Peppermint."  She made friends easily, but instinctively shied away from some, describing one man as having "the kind of eyes you want to stick a fork into."  Her sense of humor was sublime.   And then there was Mary ...

She was reserved and introspective, friendships did not come easily.  Admittedly her greatest accomplishment was not a daring adventure on the high seas, but her little family and Ron, her husband of thirty-five years. Sometimes her love of writing and faith in Christ were the only things in life that sustained her.  Her own sense of humor eluded her.  

It was an unlikely friendship given the polar personalities and age difference, yet one that blossomed from the heart.  "Together, Nancy and I made one dynamite woman ..." Mary claimed, but life, love and friendship were interrupted by breast cancer.

One day, over salad and hot bread, Nancy suggested they write a book together and so they did.   Nancy Bayless and Mary Jenson wrote of their love for writing, their faith and one another in  what an old friend taught me about life over salad & hot bread

I found the book to be soft, light and loosely knit.  At times the lives of Mary and Nancy seemed to be parallel and didn't merge.  It felt as if Mary were holding back emotionally, but that was Mary ... reserved and introspective.  I enjoyed the book and somehow hoped that Nancy and Mary would show up in  "Peppermint" and offer me a ride to Anywhere, USA.  I have a faint suspicion that Nancy is somewhere up there peeking around a cloud and winking her eye at her pal  ... "Here's looking at you, kid!"