Life sometimes has a strange way of kicking you in the ass just when you think everything's going great. I don't usually write posts like this one, but recently I've felt the need to rant just a little. Last year -- 2009 -- sucked . Not professionally, you understand -- I did okay with writing and book sales etc. -- but I lost two very dear friends and it's been hard to reconcile their loss. We went back a long way together - Jimmy, Gee (short for Godfrey) and I worked together in show biz years ago.
Though time and distance kept us apart most of the time, we never lost touch, and when my partner Phil and I visited them in London they always made us feel so welcome and at home. Gee passed away after a long bout with cancer, and sad to say Jimmy never really recover from the loss. He visited us at our home in Nevada last April, but he was a shadow of his former self -- totally at sea without his safe haven.
Last December I received the sad news that Jimmy had died after falling down a flight of stairs at his home in Mitcham, Surrey. Phil and I attended his memorial service in London on Jan. 30th, his birthday. His and Gee's ashes were scattered together from a boat on the River Thames. I was glad I was there to say goodbye to both of them, but the crushing sadness I felt that day has taken a long time to dissipate. It's still there, and somehow I feel it always will be. Friends -- good friends -- are rare, and impossible to replace. The memories I have of them, the good times, the laughs we shared, will never die -- I will always hold them close to myheart. I just wish I could hold my dear friends there again too.
Having experienced personal loss myself this past year, I understand the deep sadness that lingers longer than we hope it will. Though it can't compare to long term friendships, remember you are part of our family at MLR Press.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear of your loss. I had a tough year in that respect too, since I lost my mom in April.
ReplyDeleteJust last Saturday night we went to dinner with someone who had plans to travel to Italy with his wife the next day for what is expected to be their final romantic vacation (before he begins a risky medical procedure he isn't expecting to survive.)
It's shocking and draws one up short, as if one is running along happily with friends and they're jerked out of the picture. So sorry. Thinking of you. :-(
Thanks Laura, appreciate the sentiment - and being part of MLR is like a huge bonus in my life. J.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lauralyn,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear of your tragic news also - I think it was Noel Coward who said to 'keep smiling through' - we'll try!
JP,
ReplyDeleteYou have my thoughts and prayers. I have no words. Love to you,
Nothing replaces the loss of those we hold dear to us. I am sorry to hear of the loss of your friends. You and Phil are in my thoughts and prayers. You will always hold them near and they will never be far from you.
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