Diane and I just came back from a really nice memorial gathering for our friend Barbara who died about 3 weeks back at the age of 90.. Diane, Jen and a few friends had set up Barbara’s house nicely..they planted flowers, and made food.. A very nice group of people came through and told stories about Barbabra.. and there were many to tell about her long and adventurous life

I’m not sure ho long Barabra had been in that house, but I do know that her parents had moved fro Berkeley California to a house on Wes White hill in the early 1920’s.. and thats where Barbara , and her sisters Noreen and Charlotte had grown up.. (or spent summers.. not sure I got that)  Both sisters were there today..  Noreen is a good friend of ours. She was Sam’s piano teacher !

 

The setting is really nice.. here’s the view from the back deck

 

Barbara had lived alone most of her life. she never married but came close several times. She worked as a stewardess (she always corrected me when I said ‘flight attendant’  ) for PanAm and traveled the world. She’s loved all over including stints in Lebanon and  Portugal .> we heard a great story about her time in Portugal, she’d brought her horse over from the US.. when it was time to go back, she managed to get the horse on board a pan-am flight to JFK..when she got there, she unloaded the horse from the plane and then road the horse from the airport back our to where her family lived on long island !

 

Her house was full of pictures and objects from far away places.

 

Late afternoon, we all gathered to talk. One woman showed up who’d been a friend of Barbara at Panam.. she told us soem cool stories of their time travelign together. We think that Barbara might have been one of the oldest serving stewerdesses when she retired at age 1978  in 2001.

THere was a harp player there who was really wonderfull.. I had never really watched anyone play the harp.. it was truly beitiful   

 

We sat around for a bit and told stories, then read some poems from Emily Dickenson,which I understand was one of Barbar’s favorite poets.  It was fun hearing all the stories of this adventurous, free spirited and ..(gotta say) lovably eccentric lady.

 

I spent the rest of the time lookign at photos that were aroudn the house and scrollign by on a screen.    

 

Notice that I managed to get two pictures of this one.. somehow one is superimposed with people.. it’s either supernatural.. or super coincidental that I caught it between two pictures changing.. can’t figure it out..

 

We heard some great stories abotu two of Barbara’s past loves.. One was a Pakistani prince.. they almost married.. but the prince had a harem…   that didnt fit Barbara’s independent streak..

 

she also almost married a man in Lebaonon who ran all the Ford dealers in the country.. but when Barbara realized she wouldnt be able to drive by hereself there.. she called iit off.

 

She a

 

It was a nice gathering… as we left I couldn’t hep wonder abotu the sotires behind all the cool objects and pictures still in the house.. now noone knew their stories..     30 minutes later, diane saud the exact samne thing to me..

 

Well barbara.. we’ll miss yoyu.. Here’s to an interesting, well lived life !

 

 

nite all, nite sam

-me