Coming up next is the sixth part to Diane Richardson's "When I Met My Hubby." But first, another travel story!
I have more trips lined up in the future, so I've got airplanes on my mind. It's weird to think that I'm feeling comfortable enough to go back on airplanes again; especially given how inconvenient flights have been lately. By an odd coincidence, both our stories involve airplanes. The first is a eulogy by older bud Cynthia for her late brother:
Cynthia Morihara
10.22.2020
Letter to a Friend
It is true that my brother made a hefty income as an emergency room doctor, but he used a lot of money to buy planes and run a small airpark. He flew himself to all his hospitals. He also hired many people as he was always starting up businesses and projects, most of which failed in some way or another. Although he was a good doctor, he was not lucky in business. He had many friends, as witnessed by the big turnout at his funeral. People came from all over the country, and I saw three of his best friends cry. I loved my brother, but he didn’t have good sense. He overworked, and he didn’t get enough sleep. Once, being so tired he forgot to put his landing gear down. He ruined his plane. It was unfortunate that he got himself into debt over his head. It was unfortunate that he died so young. I also lost a son, and that was and is painful for me.
We now return to our continuing story, "When I Met My Husband" by Diane Richardson:
Diane Richardson
03.22.2022
When I Met My Husband Part 6
So, I continued going to the casino every Saturday with Pearlie Mae and having a good time loading up. I was telling my daughters about my trips and my youngest daughter Tia asked if she could meet us there as she lives in Voorhees not far from the casino. I told her where to meet us and told her we’d be in a red van. When she arrived, she said to me “I hate to tell you that’s not a van. It’s a candy apple red Cadillac Escalade.” I said, “Well, do tell.” Tia is a flight attendant for American Airlines and sometimes work for private companies for entertainers. She could write a book about it. Myself, Joe and her siblings can fly for free. Tara and Tia would fly once a month to a different island. I would fly on some weekends to Vegas then New York then home. Traveling to those islands was too much for me. I did it a couple of times to Aruba and Cancun. I mostly stayed in my room. They would get ready to go out at eleven and I would get ready for bed. I can’t hang with them. So, Tia and Pearlie Mae began to get tight as Tia loves to gamble also. Tia put Pearlie Mae on her buddy plan where she could fly for free. She only had to pay the taxes. They would fly to all the casinos and gamble till their hearts were content. They lost a lot, and they won a lot. My other daughter Tara is a Harvard graduate and holds a master’s degree in nursing. She’s like me, a book worm with no desire to gamble. I get no pleasure in losing my money. I’d rather give it away to those in need, than lose it to gambling. I donate money to a few organizations. I get pleasure doing that.
To Be Continued...
If you want to transcribe for Best Day, then email us at info@bestdayofmylifesofar.org. You can also share our older buds' adventures by donating to Best Day, subscribing to our newsletter, sending a note to our older buds, or following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And if you or the older buds have gone abroad, then you or they can submit stories through our portal right here. We're especially interested to stories from Black older buds, but we're always looking for stories from older buds of color, older buds with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ older buds, older buds of any gender or sex, older buds of any religion, and older buds who just plain break the mold.
And don't forget to maintain contact with the older buds in your life. If you can't be there in person, please call them, email them, or message them on social media. And if they're using teleconferencing or remote events for the first time, give them a call and help them set things up. Check in on them to see how well they're getting used to these programs. Buy them a computer or an internet package if they don't have one of their own. It's a human right, after all.
Curated by Caitlin Cieri