It’s been a while since we last spoke.
I have great memories of you. On my many trips to New York, you always welcomed me with open arms, and I felt like I was family. You often took Bill and me to dinner at The Georgia Diner and you wouldn’t let me take out my wallet! I enjoyed talking with you about just about any subject and I much enjoyed watching your hearty dialogue with your son. Bill and you had a special mother son relationship, and you were a huge influence on him.
I want to say thank you for bringing your son Bill into the world. As you know, Bill and I were business partners in the sunglass industry for 18 years. Bill and I met at a bar in Allston called Bunratty’s. It was my first and last time at that historic bar. We came to hit it off and Bill wrote down his phone number on a piece of paper. The only problem was he forgot a digit and I could never reach him. Shortly after that I was in Government Center, and I ran into a young man who was selling pins on a big black umbrella. I remember Billy told me at our bar encounter that he had such a “business”. The man gave me Bill’s full number (no missing digits) and Bill, and I reconnected. We became fast friends and shortly after that—business partners. Bill was a great partner who had better business instincts than me. I was wise enough to listen and learn. I soon took a Greyhound bus cross country with the destination of California. The bus trip was Bill’s idea and it proved to be a good one. I could get off and on the bus at major cities and stay there overnight as long as I finished my trip within 14 days if my memory serves me correctly.
I set up base camp in Los Angeles and spent long days schlepping suitcases of sunglass samples along the hot sidewalks of Southern California. I encountered people from all over the world in our attempt to get our sunglasses into the trendy boutiques of Hollywood. I had previously attended college at USC, a major university in Los Angeles but though the lush campus of USC was not too far away, it all seemed a world away from the start up business I was immersed in now. Over time Bill and I grew our business, and I became more at home in Los Angeles. Bill and I would have long very and very expensive long distance phone calls and talk about business and life.
After a decade I returned back to Boston and soon married and had a daughter and stepdaughter. A while after that I sold my half of the business to Bill and embarked on my real estate Odyssey. Life gets busy with demands big and small but through it all Bill and I have remained in touch and have some of the most interesting conversations I have ever had. And I am most proud of our continued friendship.
Bill makes me laugh. He makes me think. I would consider him a modern-day practical philosopher. I could go on and on. So, this man who has been my friend for over 3 decades owes his start in life to you. Your values. Your sacrifices. Your love.
Thank you Janet.
May your memory be for a blessing.
along the way 