It seems like a whole generation of people are leaving this earth at the same time. My dads best friend Tom Urbin died this morning. The two had been friends since meeting in the 2nd grade at Assumption Grotto in Detroit, MI until my dads last breath in 1994. They belonged to a larger circle of buddies and their wives whos friendship lasted a whole life time. They were aunts and uncles to us kids. Tom Urbin was handsome and athletic, and had a great jokester sense of humor, and an infectious laugh. Like my dad, he influenced generations of students as a teacher, coach, and eventually a counselor. ~My mom always had a special place in her heart for him, too. As the story goes, back in late 1940s, my mom liked both neighborhood boys that attended St. Anthonys High School. During Easter while participating in an annual walk and visit from church to church (easy to do in the old neighborhoods of Detroit with a church on every corner), my mother reached St. Anthonys hoping to see them both. I imagine my mom dressed in the typical classy, feminine styles of the 40s...pencil, kick-pleat skirt, proper blouse and matching waist-flattering jacket, white gloves, and a lovely hat poised neatly on her brown locks curled stylishly and framing her sweet face. As she enter St. Anthonys Church, she said a little prayer for guidance and asked St. A to give her a sign as to which boy was her true love. The church was packed. Upon kneeling in the last pew, her skirt got caught on her heel, and as she graceful leaned back to free it, she looked up into the balcony and was met by my fathers confident ear-to-ear grin, and no sight of Urbin, who was home sick. She said she knew then, that the mystery was over. It was your daddy, she said, and she never gave it another thought. St. Anthony became both of my parents patron saint. Urbin and his wife, along with all the other athletic, intelligent, handsome men in my dads circle of friends spent many years together....playing Bridge, going on outings, and getting all of their kids together for family parties or trips to the cabin. ~The rest of the gang are all elderly white-haired, frail people now, but still so loved and honored by us siblings. But I like the idea of my mom now walking arm-in-arm in the middle of her two favored men...perhaps young, strong, and beautiful again; laughing, flirting, singing....in fields of gold.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 01:48:35 +0000
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