Letters to Valerie
Valerie is gone. The world is a poorer, sadder place today than yesterday. She always had a childlike honesty, purity and slight naivety to her personality. Something is lost - don’t worry too much about, it will show up. If she really wanted to do this, that or the other thing - just do it and it will work out. Her word was her word and you could count on her to do as she said she would do; and she expected others to be the same way; trust but verify. And things mostly did work out for her. She could also be tenacious in her views - I think of the many arguments we had writing our Thanksgiving and Christmas cards - she or I would want something included or said in a certain way that differed from the other person - there were lots and lots of drafts until it reached a level of satisfaction- but it worked. She took immense pride in I’d doing things to a high standard. She also insisted on things being done as best as possible. This was clearly reflected in her restaurant business and other activities in her life.
I think the song ‘Summer Wind’ says a lot about our life together. Paraphrasing, it starts with the Summer Wind blowing from across the sea; it touches the young lovers; and they walk (in our case) for 30 years on ‘golden sand’ - and what wonderful years they were for us; but then ‘softer than a piper man, one day it called for you, and I lost you, I lost you to the summer wind’. Today I curse the piper man and the summer wind for taking you from me; but I have to be immensefully grateful for the 30 years we had to ‘walk the Golden Sands of life together.
Love Brian
