Check and Double Check

A correction is in order. It was kindly pointed out to me by Nancy Gaestel Jasinski that Maggie Erdman, while gone, had been so for many years; that Wayne Hills Auditorium had been dedicated to her memory and that Betty Singer had attended the ceremony. So first, I thanked Nancy, and then called Betty to get the details. Betty said that it had been a long time ago and wasn't sure about the date. I went back to the archives to double check my facts, something I usually rely on Linda to do, but didn't on this occasion because I was upset thinking that I had missed an opportunity by only a short while when in reality, the chance to see Maggie again was long gone. Ned Soleau had mentioned this to me a while ago but it had no impact at the time.  I think I'll call Doc and Dot Piaget while I still can........

Needless to say, when Gordon Albro messaged on FB and asked me if I knew anything about Bernice Alexander and Joe Brophy, I was a little more circumspect and after a double check with the DVA (Department of Veterans Affairs) on line database, we found his burial location in Totowa along with the death dates. Bernice's dates were registered with the Social Security Death Index. I called Gordon back, because bad news should always be delivered as close to personally as possible. An email or FB message just didn't seem right. Gordon also gave me his current contact info for the directory.

I'm waiting for confirmation of a story told to me that Louie Lotz is a pastor. I have emailed the church in Michigan that displays a photo of their pastor on their website that bears a striking resemblance to our Lou Lotz. Do you think this looks like Lou? If so, Lou isn't just a pastor. He's a lettered theologian and a widely known, prolific author.

I'm still calling folks to confirm locations by phone in the early evening and considering time zone changes. Despite Linda's best efforts, I have given up trying to keep it short. So far the best I've done is 30 minutes. There is always so much catching up to do. Talked to Doug Itjen last night and had to compliment him for raising a son who looks really sharp in a Wayne PD uniform. Chip off the old block, you could say.

By the way, if I do post something that flies in the face of what you know for fact, let me know right away. I'm not infallible by any means. My friends and Linda take considerable delight in pointing this out to me on every possible occasion. When wandering through the foggy past, it is easy to make missteps along the way. Collective memory has got to be better than my memory. I used to remember all my clients' phone numbers. Now I just remember the numbers and have no idea who they belong too. Isn't that why we all have smartphones now? Now I can't even call anyone without using the thing. When you don't need to remember, you don't. Eventually, we'll just Google everything and there it will be. That would make finding everyone easy. Unfortunately, we're not quite there yet.