Ever since I was 14 years old I have been fortunate enough to spend at least one week of summer in this wonderful state.
It all started years and years ago when my dad had a summer job as a counsellor at a boys camp for the blind. I'm not even sure where this camp was, possibly in Maine, possibly in New Your, I honestly don't remember. At the time Papa Danny was just a teenager himself and living on the upper west side of Manhattan so a summer working in the country was a real treat. He always spoke fondly of his time at the camp but his very best experience there was meeting his life long friend, Forrest Estabrook. Forrest was a young kid from Portland, Maine working at the camp just like my dad. The two young boys hit it off and were fast friends until their dying days.
As a small child my parents would bring me to Portland to visit Forrest and his wife Ann. I have photo's of their house but I swear I can remember being there even though I was no older than 2 or 3. As the years went on Forrest and Ann moved to Augusta, Maine and every couple of years my dad would take me on vacation to give my mom a break while caring for my two old grandpas who lived with us. Sometimes she would be able to get someone to care for grandpa but most often it was just my dad and me.
The year I turned 14 my father brought me to Augusta and after visiting with his friends for a few days he had to return to give my mom a hand and to get back to his job in NY. It was agreed by all that I would remain in Maine with Forrest and Ann for another week to give my parents a much needed break from me! After about 8 hours of being on my own I knew I was in for a rough week. Being an only child I did not like to sleep over at friends and I had a terrible problem with separation. And yet I agreed to stay in Maine for a week ??? What was I thinking ?? Forrest and Ann never had any children and I'm sure they were just as panicked as I was once the dust settled and my father was out of reach. As a last ditch effort to entertain me and keep me from going into full panic mode they introduced me to their next door neighbor who happened to be my age. Beverly was a very nice girl but just because we were the same age didn't mean we hit it off. Not happening ! Fortunately Bev had a younger sister, Gloria, who was 2 years younger than me and WE hit it off fantastically !! My mental age and Glo's chronological age matched perfectly and we have been BEST friends ever since.
Years would go by when Glo and I wouldn't see each other but we always kept in touch by writing letters. Endless letters that would cover months of events and wouldn't get mailed until there were too many pages to stuff in an envelope. We wrote all through high school and college. I saw Glo once when I started teaching and she came to NY and it was like we had just been together yesterday. Something only the very best of friends can do.
Years went by and I got married, two years later Gloria got married. We knew all about each other's prospective spouses through those letters. I had a son, Gloria had a son. I had a daughter, Gloria had a daughter. Gloria laughed herself silly when I got pregnant only a year later only to have the same thing happen to her. And there we were, both with three children, boy-girl-boy. It was uncanny to say the least.
When Gloria's youngest child was one year old Glo and I decided it was time to get together and meet each other's families. The husbands had never met, our children were all under the age of 7 and WE, (Glo and I), decided to rent a house TOGETHER on Lake Sebago for a WEEK ! We always laugh when we look back on this as it could have been a disaster beyond all disasters but as it turned out it was one of the best weeks of all of our lives. It was the week that we were all blessed to meet Gloria's wonderful husband John Mac Gregor. John and Gerry hit it off so well that they were friends for life. Gerry was never as funny and light hearted as when he was with John. John had a way of touching people and making them feel like they were his very best friend. Over the years we drank a lot of Gin and ate a lot of lobsters with this great family. We all loved John so very much and so when he died from heart failure this past weekend it was no surprise that there was such an out pouring of love and respect for him from what seemed like the entire population of Portland, Maine who came to the funeral home to hug Gloria and give their regrets to John's children.
Our only saving thought is that John and Ger are now sitting on a park bench up in Heaven looking down on all of us and laughing their fool heads off. God Bless them both.
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