Years ago, I dated the woman above. It turned into a simple friendship, as we were in different stages of life. Mary was about to retire, and I was trying to stave off a forced retirement for a few years. Sadly, thanks to Facebook and its habit of reminding people of posts they made years ago, I found out that my friend had died a couple of years ago.
Mary once wanted to become a nun. However, that was not her calling. Yet, she ended up serving people in her own way, running a restaurant, running an Airbnb, and even managing hospitality for a service organization's guest house overlooking the Hudson river. When I last was in contact with her, she had moved back to the San Francisco Bay area, and had just found subsidized housing that she could afford.
I always wanted to visit Mary the next time I returned to the SF Bay area, but we had lost contact and I had other things on my mind for the past few years. When I was in SF on my recent cruise, I had forgotten all about her. So I was very surprised to find out that she passed away in 2021. Could it have been Covid-19? Who knows? I remember that she had a blood disorder that she knew could kill her one day. Could this have happened? I doubt that I will ever find out, as I was never in her close circle of friends.
By my calculations, Mary was 77 years old when she passed away. She lived a good life, and she was one of those rare people that no one would have a bad word to say about her. I consider myself lucky to have known Mary for a short period in life, and I will miss having the chance to see her again....
