2017 Life Logs, Day 300: My Best Friend
Date: Friday, October 27, 2017
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 62, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
Today was the 43rd anniversary of my marriage to Mark Handley. It was a day of reflection for me. Mark was not only my husband and the father of our children. He was my best friend. I miss him more than words can possibly describe, but I live on in his spirit—live every day to its fullest, reach out, explore, learn . . . never sit around and be sad. I met Mark at an educational television conference in Baltimore, Maryland, in September 1973. It was love at first sight, and two weeks later I drove to Bloomington, Indiana, to meet him for a second time. I was driving a little light blue Ford Pinto and he met me in his classy hunter green Fiat convertible. He had on his raggedy jeans and his signature white v-neck undershirt which was also raggedy. When we got to his house, he had a bottle of perfectly chilled Pouilly-Fuisse waiting to toast our new relationship. I was then, and always will be, a beer drinker, but on all of our anniversaries from that first meeting in Bloomington forward, we always celebrated with Pouilly-Fuisse. So, tonight I bought a bottle of this wine and made a toast to Mark to let him know how much I appreciate the world he opened up to me. Happy anniversary to my best friend!
I had lunch with friends today. Karen and Peter Baranowski are friends I have met through the Falmouth Newcomers Club. They invited me and another Newcomers member, Margaret Souza, for lunch. Peter is an avid clam digger and seems to be an endless source of fresh clams. We had his fresh clam chowder for lunch, which was delicious, as well as freshly backed Portuguese bread Margaret delivered from Fall River. There was also a wonderful arugula, walnut, and pomegranate seed salad provided by Karen. Yummy, yummy lunch and great conversation. After lunch I headed back to Solar Rising to seek more information for the solar project we are planning for Justin and Jo’s home in Puerto Rico, and then I went to the gym for a 20-20-20 class. I had planned a quiet evening at home, but the minute I walked through the door, I got a ding on my phone telling me Justin was trying to reach me via Skype messaging. Long story short, Walgreens is sending crew to PR to restore internet to their stores and Justin was trying to reach one of their agents to offer him and his crew a place to stay in return for the installation of internet service. Justin had no cell service today, so he was not able to contact the guy in charge of this effort directly. He was able to message me the phone number. I called the guy and arranged for them to ‘talk’ via Skype messaging or a phone,call later tonight. Evidently cell service is better later in the evening. I have heard nothing further, so hopefully they were able to connect. In between my messaging with Justin, I talked to Mark’s brother Steve. He had sent an email worried that Justin and family and neighbors didn’t have enough to eat and he wanted to know what he could to help. I assured him that Justin says everyone has food. It might not be the most nutritious, but they are eating. And they have water from springs and the rain. Not a perfect situation, but they are surviving quite well. But it was great to talk to Steve. I often feel like I am working in a vacuum and contact with someone who understands the situation was a wonderful relief for me.
