Molony is a New Orleans-based photographer.
“So, it stuck.”ĭickson is the only one who still lives in Santa Barbara, where he runs a tourism website. Molony described late night knocks on walls, firecrackers tossed into a bedroom in retaliation and relentless teasing.ĭickson confessed he nicknamed Wardlaw “Wedge” because of his definition of the shape of his friend’s head after a haircut. They’ve fished, hiked, barbecued, picked berries for homemade pies and pranked each other over the years. Their reunions take place at the Copco Lake cabin built by Wardlaw’s grandfather in 1970. The five friends, all graduates of Santa Barbara High School, took the first photo in the now-familiar pose in their late teens with an automatic camera timer in 1982. They won’t pick it out right off the bat.
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“It’s happened to me for a couple reasons,” said the software engineer who founded Occam Networks. Rumer-Cleary called the attention the photos have generated surreal and says at times, strangers will stop him. Some said we looked pretty good, and it was brave after 50.”įour of the friends are 59 years old. “There were responses to (three of us) going shirtless. “There are some dumb quotes you can never put in any articles,” said Wardlaw. Once again, their images went viral, spinning around social media sites where their appearance was both mercilessly dissected and praised. Their photo was displayed in Costco’s magazine. The five guys told CNN they ended up in a German museum exhibit on friendship. The close bonds exhibited in the last photo, in 2017, once again brought a frenzy of interest to the laid-back quintet.
“It’s nice to get back here and know that the cancer was not going to eliminate what we’re doing,” said Burney. Burney’s right hand rests inside his right knee. They were seated in the same order and in the same poses as they’ve been striking since 1982.Ī hat always rests on Rumer-Cleary’s lap or knee. The fivesome dickered over their posture and froze as the photos clicked off on a Nikon D800 camera. They took the latest picture on a 79-degree day worthy of a travel brochure cover. The friends, often talking in quick bursts over each other, pointed out Oregon was across the lake.īy midday Wednesday, it was time for the main event. Other animal sightings on Tuesday included a bobcat, deer and cattle. The majestic bird, with its trademark white head, looped above the cabin, as if to lend the scene pomp and circumstance. Two of the friends with a window view rose out of their seats. “And the cardiologist,” quipped Rumer-Cleary. “We’ll all be drinking water at midnight,” said Molony. “Salt is the main ingredient,” laughed Wardlaw. Wardlaw stuffs meat into hard taco shells and pan fries them so hot, he wears a glove and safety glasses to protect against spatter. So they gathered the night before the photo was taken for their other five-year tradition - feasting on “Wedge” tacos. Burney’s cancer and the pandemic made reunions difficult. They had not all been together since the last photo in 2017. I can’t run anymore, but I sure can walk.”īurney walked with ease around Copco Lake on Tuesday evening with Dickson, Mark Rumer-Cleary, Jon Molony and their host, John “Wedge” Wardlaw. “My cancer - liposarcoma, I knew something was wrong for many months,” said the elementary school teacher.
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“We worried there would be an empty spot on the bench where we take the picture.”ĭallas Burney, seated in the middle of the series of photos that replicate the poses of the very first shot, told CNN he had a large cancerous tumor removed from his left leg in 2019. “I was crushed,” said John Dickson, who lives in Santa Barbara where the friends first met. Some of the guys openly feared it could be a photo of four friends this year instead of the five first pictured as teenagers.