MORTALITY

 I got slapped in the face again yesterday.   My friend, Joel Conrad, who I have known for Fifty-odd years passed away suddenly.  His partner called me and told me that they were out to dinner and he "just keeled over."  The ambulance was called but it was too late.

It made me sad, angry and reflective.  I was lucky enough to have been in touch with Joel and his husband Joe (Yes, they made it legal, in Massachusetts) on many occasions over the last few years including visits to Florida to see Fabian and myself, (visits that we enjoyed thoroughly) and birthday cards and Christmas gift were exchanged and a phone call at least once a month.  They enriched our lives.

But now, everything will change.  There will be a void.  Thankfully, there will also be memories.

Below is a photo of a production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" at the Meadowbrook Dinner Theater with Joel in the back and myself in the near front just trying to amuse.  (As a side note, everyone had to play several roles in this production and Joel and I doubled as cleaning ladies in one scene...………...Luckily, no photos are in existence.)

So, thanks Joel for your kindness and friendship.  You always made me happy and I will miss you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BERNADETTE

Image
I first met Bernadette Peters when we were both in a production of "The Boy Friend" (With Yvonne de Carlo) at the Wedgewood Dinner Theater in Glen Cove, Long Island. She had previously been a child performer starting at the age of three on the TV show "Juvenile Jury" and went on to many other venues of the day  (She did "Name that Tune" when she was five.)  And there are many other credits, I could relate. So, she  was a seasoned performer when we met. Almost every night, after the performance of "The Boy Friend," and before we started the trek back into the city, a bunch of us would retire into the bar, where Bernadette would usually sing a number or two with the pianist.   She was remarkable.  She would turn a song like "You made me love you" into a soulful agony with tears streaming down her face as she neared the end.   Just remarkable. Soon after she was doing "George M" on Broadway and "Dames at Sea'  of
Read more

GRANDMA SMITH

Image
My Grandmother raised nine children, (seven girls and two boys.....my mother being the youngest.) She became a widow in 1935 when my grandfather was killed in an auto accident just north of our small town of Corbin, Kansas.   From then on, she took turns living with her children for about a month at a time.   Eventually, it was decided to build her a small one room house on my parents property where she could have her own space but be close at hand.  (This "house" was constructed when I was thirteen or so.) A few years later, (now, in her eighties) she began receiving mail form an old beau that she had known in her youth and it soon blossomed into a certified romance.  (A long distance one, but a romance nonetheless.) All of her children went into shock when she announced at the age of 89 that she and her reunited beau were going to be married!  (Sadly, I no longer remember his name.... it may have been Leo.) At any rate, "Leo" made the trip from somewhere in
Read more

PUZZLES, CONTESTS AND SUCH

Image
I have always been intrigued by puzzles of all sorts starting out with jigsaws in my youth and eventually graduating to Crosswords, Jumbles, Sudokus, Cyphers, Word Searches and a myriad of other types of posers.   And I do my fair share...….the New York Times Sunday Crossword is by far my favorite and I am proud to say that I can now solve it in ink!  (After many years with the no.2 and an eraser) On the contest side, I've entered here and there...……..New York magazine ran a weekly challenge back in the day and had numerous types of things to do.   For instance (and a classic)….Make up a name using other names (the old "if so-and-so married so-and-so" game). If Anna Maria Alberghetti married producer David Merrick, divorced him and married comedian Jackie Cannon, divorced him and married composer Norman Paris, her name would be Anna Merrick Cannon Paris.   You get the picture? Well, after a few honorable mentions in the New York contest, I finally won one.   The cha
Read more