About Me

My photo
I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 52 years. I subscribe to Dr. PM Forni's concept of Civility. I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, and San Diego. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy, and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader and photographer.

Translator!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Whenever I See Your Smiling Face, I Have to Smile Myself....

Yesterday I drove up to PA to visit my mom. She's doing quite well and we had a good time together -- had a cheese steak for lunch and schmoozed for an hour, and giggled through Target where we bought outfits for the grand daughter.   It rained most of the way up and back down, but that's okay.  I had my friend James Taylor with me, and if I weren't singing along I drove in quiet just thinking.  I 'wrote' a short story that I'll type out within the next few days.  I took inventory of goals:  friends I need to contact; research I want to do, should I close my Facebook account.  (More and more I see postings that I find annoying -- I 'hide' all the games, and lately I've been 'hiding' some people.  For instance, one of my ex-students has a wonderful job that she bitches about constantly; denigrating patrons, her superiors, and their particular service. Another student pretentiously flaunts his importance.  Frankly, I don't want to hear it.   I mean, come on, that's what a blog is for! :) ) I've  decided I MIGHT look for a part time job answering phones.

I also thought about Jim who died on Friday of a heart attack. He was one of the good guys;  my friend when I was at Long and Foster Real Estate, my manager when I was at Century 21, and my broker when I went with him to his own firm where welcomed me even though he knew I wouldn't be long for the real estate world.  One time while I worked at Century 21, I had torn the ligaments in my ankle while playing tennis and was 'casted' for almost two months.  Jim arranged it so the office Christmas party was at our house -- he came in with a group and just took over.  Soon after, I decided to take him to lunch to thank him, so we drove over to an Italian place in Laurel and both ordered full lunches; I insisted!  I  was adamant he order dessert -- after all it was my treat.  Who knew they didn't accept American Express?  Jim wound up paying for the whole thing.  I was mortified.  We laughed about that for a while.  Today we say good-bye.

11 comments:

Linda said...

So sorry about your friend. Death seems to affect me more these days than when I was younger.

Sounds like you were quite busy on your drive. Now the big challenge, keeping it in your head until you can get it done.

Purple Flowers said...

Kath - I am so sorry to red about your friend Jim. Life just seems so unpredictable. And there's a very short time between now and then. I'm sorry.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to read about your friend. He must have been a wonderful man; reading what he did with Christmas and the Lunch (american express card). Those are the kind of people you love to be around with. Even on Facebook! (Good-bye Jim)

Jay said...

I'm not going to delete my Facebook cause it's the only place I can stay in contact with certain people. Even if they aren't that interested in staying in contact with me. But, I only sign on once a day.

Sorry about your friend. ;-)

George said...

Jim sounds like a wonderful friend. I know you'll miss him, but I also know you'll keep his memory alive.
I haven't ventured into the world of Facebook -- I guess I'll just keep doing my venting in blogland!

Brad said...

Sorry to hear about your friend. It's always hard to say goodbye. Glad you've got such good memories to keep him close.

A Slice of My Life said...

I love driving and being alone with my thoughts. A lot of thinking gets done on those rare drives.

I'm really sorry about the loss of your friend. It sounds as though he really touched your life in a positive way.

As for Facebook...I'm pretty particular about who I'm friends with...and I've been known to quietly unfriend a couple of people. I figure if they notice I can always blame it on some sort of FB glitch.

C.A. said...

Kathy, I'm so sorry about the loss of your friend. I know you will meet again one day and then YOU can pay for dessert!

I hope you decide not to delete your facebook account. :)

Happy Day.....

C.

Lena said...

So sorry to hear about the loss of your good friend, Jim. He sounded like a great man.

Driving alone is time to think or be inspired or just plain sing.

Facebook is sure interesting. Some people need to be hidden or deleted! I like connecting with the family and close friends the most.

Anonymous said...

It's memories like your *mortifying* lunch that will keep your friend close. Great story and thanks for sharing.

Facebook is getting annoying and invasive and I'd get off but I'd miss all the regular photo updates etc. of the grand-girls!

Anonymous said...

Memories of your *mortifying* lunch will keep your friend close in your heart. Great story, thanks for posting.