A Death And A Dinner

My phone rang at 8:00 am, just after breakfast. As soon as I saw who was calling--Fred Doerr--I knew. Yes, my dear friend, Marge, had died. She had been ailing, to use the old fashioned term, for a long time, with cancer and other problems. I had been in touch with her, but the last time was several months ago and she had clearly has suffered some cognizant loss, also. When I asked Fred where she would be buried, he said "in my living room." He meant she would be cremated--there will be no service or visitation--and he would keep her urn. "I'll talk to her every day," he added.

Marge was my neighbor in Sunrise Bay, Little Egg Harbor. She was almost exactly ten years older than I am; she would have been 93 in December. She was the founder of the Sunrise Bay Drama Club. Because of her, I had the nerve to not only to perform in a variety of roles for the Club, but to audition for other companies and, finally, to teach acting. She was a good friend and, although I haven't seen her since we were back in Jersey for Thanksgiving in 2018, I'll miss her terribly.

As for the day: We drove to a large national park in Altogora (?), about fifty miles away, and walked the trail, then along a road. We had packed our lunches, so ate under a nicely-designed picnic area, with shade. We got back about 3:30 and prepared for dinner at the country club.

This was so neat. A large, very substantial tent is over the patio and it overlooks the lake and the far mountains and woods--so beautiful. Also, there was a wedding being performed outdoors to one side, with reception after, and we enjoyed seeing the festivities. I had a delicious halibut and the others equally good red trout and steak. Home to our regular viewing of Better Call Saul. My hosts rarely watch television otherwise, nor do I, so it seems natural not to have that very prominent in our lives.  

Betty called and we talked for a bit. It's hard to follow her sometimes; her current annoyance is with one of her companions, but I had some difficulty figuring out which one.