Click on the music above as I pay a tribute to our friend "Jay."
We haven't heard from our friend "Jay", AKA Calvin T. Avery for sometime. Every summer for the past half dozen years he has visited Rehoboth Beach with his friend Ed. "Jay" would almost always stop by and stay for a little visit.
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| "Jay" and me during one of his many visits to our home in Delaware |
Two years ago, while on a family vacation in North Carolina Jay had an emergency hospital visit which resulted in him undergoing a colostomy operation. The next time we saw Jay he was wearing a colostomy bag and he was undergoing chemotherapy treatments for colon cancer.
Jay still stopped by for visits and was always in the same good humor that he was before his operation. One night he even stayed overnight, the only house guest we've had to stay in my "Mom's Room", a distinction still unmated by anybody else (we don't have many house guests).
Sometime this past Fall Jay stopped communicating with Bill by phone or e-mail. We both assumed that he dropped the friendship because both Bill and I had dropped our friendship with his friend Ed (which is another whole story I won't get into here).
Yesterday Bill decided to take a search in the Social Security Death Index just to make sure that Jay hadn't died. Well, much to our sadness, Jay did die. He died this past November 27th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Now we know why he didn't call.
I hope wherever Jay is now he is at peace.
Every time someone from my life leaves this world, I feel as if the Musical Chairs of Life are diminishing. While I don't fear death (which I don't - I only fear how I'm going to die), I am concerned with what a lonely world this is going to be when most of my friends and relatives are gone before me. I remember something my grandfather said when he reached the grand old age of 87years old:
"Ronnie, life isn't the same when all my friends are gone. There is no one now."
I just can't imagine. I don't even want think about it.
Goodbye Jay.
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| Calvin T. "Jay" Avery April 11, 1944 - November 27, 2010 |
