This week,
a childhood friend of mine passed due to a heart attack. It was
sudden and according to his brother Mike, he was not ill.
I
met Bob and Mike V in the summer of 1959, at the Floral Park playground. We played
little league baseball on different teams, played softball and volleyball on
the same team (sometimes) and even later, enjoyed
our times competing in the Battle of the Bands at the Village pool. And we
were there to support each other at the various dances throughout the town.
They
were thirteen months apart, Irish twins for sure, and they were not only
brothers, but also best friends. When you saw one, you generally
saw the other. Bob admired his older
brother. It was evident to those who knew them.
Bob
was nine months older than me and Mike is not quite two years older than me. But even
as a kid, that never seemed to interfere
in our friendship. Understand something about our little village and those
of us who grew up there: We were and are ALL family, with many attributes that blood families share.
And although many years
seemed to pass since the late 60s and early 70s when we all went our separate
ways, since 2013, when I began reconnecting
with so many old friends on Facebook, it seemed like it was just yesterday when
we all last talked. And it was the same with Mike and Bob.
When
I read and heard about Bob's passing this week, I felt I lost a piece of my heart, as
many of us did. I haven't seen Bob since probably 1970, but all those memories came flooding back in a rush, as if I lost my
brother. As I said, those of us
from Floral Park ARE family,
especially those of us who grew up
together in the 50s and 60s. So many shared experiences.
So Mike,
to your family, to your parents, to Bob's family and to all of us who lost a
good friend and brother, my heartfelt sympathies for your loss. Bob is
yet another angel we can look to watch over us. He was a man with a heart filled with love and kindness, and will be missed
always.
