Sue, my new friend, this piece was so loving–so well written. I do remember her smoking all those years….we had a long talk about it one day… she had pneumonia and breathing issues later in life and was ‘forced’ to quit. I had been diagnosed with melanoma decades earlier and had to stay out of the sun….sun worshiper that I was, it was hard to do. One day we were on the phone and I asked if she missed smoking and would she go back to it if she knew her health was failing and incurable. She laughed and said she’d go back to smoking in a heartbeat. She asked if I would go back to swimming and getting a tan if I was told I had a short time to live. I always had a summer tan until my diagnosis. I lived in California and my joy was swimming in the ocean. I was married to a surfer and we owned a surf shop together…. we had a good laugh when we confided that we’d go back to our dangerous habits if we knew the end was near. We could just imagine the two of us on the beach–Bobbie sitting on a beach towel smoking while high was swimming in the beautiful sea.
One time I was staying at Bobbie and Steve’s to take part in our high school reunion. Bobbie and I talked into the hours until I said to her—‘I cannot talk anymore. I have no more words’. We laughed about that many times since.
We also had marathon talks on the phone. In our last conversations it was obvious she was failing….she would cry and we would tell each other that we loved them.
I cried when I got the news–I’m teary eyed right now.
Thanks for sharing this lovely piece.
Sue, my new friend, this piece was so loving–so well written. I do remember her smoking all those years….we had a long talk about it one day… she had pneumonia and breathing issues later in life and was ‘forced’ to quit. I had been diagnosed with melanoma decades earlier and had to stay out of the sun….sun worshiper that I was, it was hard to do. One day we were on the phone and I asked if she missed smoking and would she go back to it if she knew her health was failing and incurable. She laughed and said she’d go back to smoking in a heartbeat. She asked if I would go back to swimming and getting a tan if I was told I had a short time to live. I always had a summer tan until my diagnosis. I lived in California and my joy was swimming in the ocean. I was married to a surfer and we owned a surf shop together…. we had a good laugh when we confided that we’d go back to our dangerous habits if we knew the end was near. We could just imagine the two of us on the beach–Bobbie sitting on a beach towel smoking while high was swimming in the beautiful sea.
One time I was staying at Bobbie and Steve’s to take part in our high school reunion. Bobbie and I talked into the hours until I said to her—‘I cannot talk anymore. I have no more words’. We laughed about that many times since.
We also had marathon talks on the phone. In our last conversations it was obvious she was failing….she would cry and we would tell each other that we loved them.
I cried when I got the news–I’m teary eyed right now.
Thanks for sharing this lovely piece.