So has Joanne. Joanne was spotted out of the corner of my eye on Sunday afternoon , last past. She was standing in a driveway about 1/4 of a mile down the street from my house. I saw her as I drove by. She was hugging Nadine. Nadine grew up next door and when she got married moved down the street. Nadine has children of her own now. I went home and worked in the yard on that beautiful fall Sunday afternoon. The blue sky and the crisp air and with thoughts of Joanne in my head, I was in a pleasant reverie. I looked up and there was Joanne crossing the street, standing in my driveway and then spontaneously giving me a big hug.
How are the kids ? And How are you ? and I miss you guys so much.
See , Joanne the lady who raised 4 children, buried her husband at a relatively young age , ran a bicycle shop with him until his death and after his death kind of gave up the idea of retiring. He had a first career working in the Dye Houses locally, people who worked in the dye houses contract bladder cancer with a frequency that was known. He did and he died. Joanne kept on working, I suppose to fill her time as her children were grown, her beloved husband gone.
So for as long as I can remember she brought our mail to our door. She actually had retired 7 months ago from the Postal Service . She would still be making deliveries , but the changes in the Postal Service told her it was time to go and she did. She retired at age 76, and she was still going strong then as she was on Sunday.
She told me that she attended dailly Mass, which I knew . She being the type of person we all need in our corner--the one who prays for us. She was busy with her children---grown and grandchildren. She had stayed a month out west with her son and his family. She was still cooking the big Sunday dinner. She still had that indefinable positive aura about her.
She said she had the day off from Sunday dinner and she decided to go out and see who she could see on her old route. It was nearing 4 and she had already been walking 3 hours, she said she was surprised to see so many of her people. I suspect, like most on the route, we came out to see her when we knew she was about.
This was the lady who said a prayer for you when you were out of work, had trouble with children, lost a parent. She was the one who had a big hello, a cheery good bye. She was family and friend and a constant on our street for over 30 years. She knew our lives from the envelopes delivered to our homes. She knew who got into what school, who was ill, who was getting married just from the mail. And when the mail was dark, she was light and there is no other way to describe it.
After my hug, she told me "Give your wife my love", and she was off. Hey Joanne, you gave all of us your love and we are not likely to forget it.