Squawk Radio

Four years ago, Geralyn called me all excited. I can always tell when Geralyn’s excited because her Texas accent gets moving so quickly I worry the Drawl Police are going to arrest her for speeding.

Geralyn had been working at the giant wedding dress sale for Making Memories, a traveling charity that takes donations of old wedding gowns, washes them and resells them to future brides. She told me how the future brides got fabulous deals on beautiful wedding gowns (only worn once!), the people who donated the gowns got a tax write-off and more room in their closets, and the proceeds fulfill the wishes of breast cancer patients. Then she told me stories …

The one that sticks in my mind is the story about the old man who brought in his only daughter’s wedding gown. She’d died of breast cancer at age thirty-six and he wanted to know another bride would have the chance to wear the beautiful gown his daughter had worn on the happiest day of her life and that money the dress brought in would help another breast cancer patient.

After Geralyn got done making me cry (the rat) she announced she was going to write a story featuring the Making Memories wedding gown sale. So she wrote this funny, touching story of friendship and hope, THE PINK MAGNOLIA CLUB.

It was sort of daunting to find out my BAD LUCK WEDDING DRESS friend who writes such light comedic romances could pull those kinds of grand emotions out of a story. How’d you do it, Geralyn?