A flood of memories filled facebook, newspapers, talk shows,radio and magazines as the news media reported the death of Pat Conroy, Nancy Reagan, and last week the passing of Glenn Frey. These people wandered in and out of my mind all week. I will miss them. Pat Conroy and Glenn Frey had a big impact on my life. They shaped parts of how I saw the world through their words and music. They each have their own key to a room of memories in my past. When I miss the South of my youth, Pat Conroy is one of my authors I read. "Beach Music" was my favorite book he wrote. "The Prince of Tides" and every other book he wrote came in a close second. He always came back to South Carolina. He knew both sides of the South. The one people saw and the one people lived.
He wrote of love, beauty and hot humid evenings on the coast. He also wrote of homes filled with abuse,and mental illness. He wrote of a life he did not want in a military school,not just any school, the Citadel. He also loved South Carolina. His words painted vivid pictures of the low country. He could make me laugh and cry in the same sentence.
When I read he died, I was shocked. Lisa, my oldest daughter, sent me a message from Florida, to tell me of his passing. She loves his work as much as I do. Pat Conroy understood that not every man should be a father; and that not every family member is sane or normal. He knew 'normal' could be a matter of opinion decided by the few while speaking for the many. He wrote of forgiveness and second chances and of getting even. He wrote of broken families and people who can be fixed eventually, however the cost is often more than most people desire to pay. He wrote of the high price of forgiveness. He applied what he learned.
Glenn Frey, my secret mental lover, died earlier than Lou or Pat Conroy. I mourned him too. The Eagles came on the scene about the time Tommy and I married. We loved them immediately. We have a memory to go with every song they sang. I regret not going to any of their concerts...although I do have the T Shirt. We were young and broke. We always thought we would catch them the next time.
Ronald Reagan's First Lady, Nancy, died last week too. She probably loved her husband as much as any woman has ever loved a man. I hope they are together tonight.
My friend, Lou Kirby Conner died Friday. That is so hard to believe. We grew up together and then went our separate ways. However, the connection was never broken. After years of no contact we would see each other and pick right up where we had left off. That is how it is with good friends and family.
My first memories of Lou and me were as little girls walking to school together. We would laugh and talk and always stop at the dime store. One day Lou told me her version of the facts of life. I was all ears. I don't know who told her that version but man did she have it wrong. We didn't know it until years later. Then we had a big laugh at how gullible little seven year old girls can be.
Not to be outdone, I would tell Lou the Saturday night adventures at the jailhouse. Mama and I lived with Mamamae and Granddaddy in the little house across from the jail. When the weather was pretty we had a front row seat to the Saturday night rowdiness.
On Monday morning, I had a new story about blood and guts, fighting and weapons drawn by the police to calm down the drunks. That is unless it rained and then everyone went to jail or bed because it was too wet to sit outside. I may have exaggerated a little...I may have exaggerated a LOT... just to keep the story interesting. That was fine with Lou.
Lou was the first one in our group to get a transistor radio. Transistor radios were all the rage for several years. It would be like getting an IPhone today. I had to wait until Christmas to get mine. It was about four inches wide and maybe six inches long. We could take it to school with us or put it under our pillow and go to sleep listening to WLS Chicago. Dick Biondi was the 'coolest'D.J. He was always one step away from getting fired for pushing his slightly off color jokes. We loved him. He was our 'bad boy'. I was listening the night he played the first Beatles record. It was awesome.
If memory serves me right, Lou was the first in our group to get married. Mama and I went to her wedding. She was a beautiful bride. It was a Fall candlelight wedding for Richard Conner and Lou Kirby. They made a beautiful couple.
Thirty or forty years later, Lou and I spent a lot of time together the summer Daddy was admitted to ICF. It would be a month before his room was ready and I stayed with him until it was fixed. I was at her apartment two or three times a week. It was good to catch up on each others lives. We laughed a lot at silly things we remembered when we were kids. Lou was a good friend. The years and miles did not change that fact. I will always miss her.
No comments:
Post a Comment