I'm sure the people who knew her as Debbie from the old days remember her relationship with Nick. He was one of her former beaus. If I have the story right, she joined his family. At home, she had a certain rebel role and at Nick's, she was just another member of the family.
At home she attracted her father's ire, her mother warned her about upsetting him too much. Her brother Peter said it was her fault (a shared joke) but I think the situation was wearing on her. It's complicated and I don't know if either of us ever figured it all out.
But at Nick's house the food was good, the company was good and she never got in trouble there and they loved her unconditionally. She learned enough Greek to get by and went to Greece with them. She always wanted to take me there sometime, but pre-India it sounded HOT. Now, I regret making a fuss since I adapted to India heat, Greece should have been a breeze. She has always, always looked fondly at that part of her life. And she never let go of them.
I found Nick's sister's email and told her last night. Now we have readers in Greece.
One last Greek story. I took Deb to Duluth in January in 1984 or 85. We spent time with my family, but I also drove up the shore of Lake Superior. She was properly outfitted in a down coat, down mitts, long underwear and good boots (not those thin, stylish things she usually bought). North of Two Harbors we pulled into a log cabin diner for lunch. Somehow Deb knew she was in an establishment run by a Greek family and she dropped a few words in Greek and all of a sudden, we were getting truly royal treatment. Here we sit in the middle of nowhere and she's already made new friends. And by nowhere, I mean communities of a few hundred people surrounded by state and national forests of 10s or 100s of thousands of acres. And the Lake Superior, of course.
This day also happened to be a dog sled race day. We got to walk around and see the dogs that were training for the Iditarod by running this race. She first made pals with a trailer full of sled dogs and then started talking with the woman who was going to be sledding. No surprise, right?
At home she attracted her father's ire, her mother warned her about upsetting him too much. Her brother Peter said it was her fault (a shared joke) but I think the situation was wearing on her. It's complicated and I don't know if either of us ever figured it all out.
But at Nick's house the food was good, the company was good and she never got in trouble there and they loved her unconditionally. She learned enough Greek to get by and went to Greece with them. She always wanted to take me there sometime, but pre-India it sounded HOT. Now, I regret making a fuss since I adapted to India heat, Greece should have been a breeze. She has always, always looked fondly at that part of her life. And she never let go of them.
I found Nick's sister's email and told her last night. Now we have readers in Greece.
One last Greek story. I took Deb to Duluth in January in 1984 or 85. We spent time with my family, but I also drove up the shore of Lake Superior. She was properly outfitted in a down coat, down mitts, long underwear and good boots (not those thin, stylish things she usually bought). North of Two Harbors we pulled into a log cabin diner for lunch. Somehow Deb knew she was in an establishment run by a Greek family and she dropped a few words in Greek and all of a sudden, we were getting truly royal treatment. Here we sit in the middle of nowhere and she's already made new friends. And by nowhere, I mean communities of a few hundred people surrounded by state and national forests of 10s or 100s of thousands of acres. And the Lake Superior, of course.
This day also happened to be a dog sled race day. We got to walk around and see the dogs that were training for the Iditarod by running this race. She first made pals with a trailer full of sled dogs and then started talking with the woman who was going to be sledding. No surprise, right?
Robbin, So sorry to hear. All my love to you and Ryan. If you're ever heading to SF let me know. It'd be wonderful to see you.
ReplyDeleteWonderful story - THANKS
ReplyDeleteMy neurologist. Dr. Karen Blitz-Shabbir, had a tree planted in Israel as a tribute to my sister. She has never met my sister, and I wanted to acknowledge her kindness
ReplyDelete