This weekend we drove down to Houston for a memorial service for the dearest of friends. Too many of us are slipping away due to dementia .
Hey like I said this was a celebration! Friends and family joined together to remember Jim... Jim was the best man in our wedding many moons ago, and he was a special guy. One quick story: Jim was from an Irish neighborhood in the Bronx. My husband Tom is from an Irish neighborhood in Chicago, so is it any wonder that these two young men became fast friends when they found themselves living in Houston, Texas?
One of Tom's first memories of Jim was a phone call he got one day from Jim asking him to please come over. Seems his new lawn mower wouldn’t start.Tom checked it over to see if it was primed etc., and yanked the cord. It started right up! Jim replied “what the hell is that thing"!? ...referring to the cord.You see, he had never mowed a lawn. Tom said if he ever wrote book about Jim, it would be titled There is No Grass in The Bronx.
On the way home yesterday we ran into a horrific traffic backup due to an accident. The trusty GPS on my phone showed us another way.
So happens it was a country road past really pretty fields and ranches.
Even though it added time to our trip, it was so peaceful and enjoyable. I wish as we hurry through life we would take more time and enjoy the back roads available to us in our lives…
I like that it was called a celebration. A life well lived is well worth celebrating.
ReplyDeleteDearest Janey,
ReplyDeleteThat was a hilarious memory of Tom's dear friend and his choice for book title sounds absolutely right.
Oh, those backroads indeed are enjoyable and if only for getting away from the aggressive behavior on our Interstates. Last week we had the worst traffic jam in decades, going to Atlanta. Felt so good for being able to stay at our hotel and not having to fight it twice.
Glad you found this escape rout and enjoyed it too.
Hugs,
Mariette
What a great story about your friend and I must add a great title for a book too. I'm glad you got to take "the road less traveled" on the way home so you could enjoy the scenery.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you lost a good friend. To celebrate was the good thing to do.
ReplyDeleteHelas we have reached the age that friends are dying. It makes me feel sad, we lost many the last months...
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