Frank was like a brother. When I met him a few decades ago, we talked like we already had known each other for years.
He use to call me a few weeks before Nationals. He would say, ‘Heya Mo, you going to Nats’?
I’m not sure at the moment.
He would say, ‘If you go, I’ll go. If you aren’t going, I won’t bother’.
I would tell him, don’t put it on me, brother. You are the one that needs to go. You have an ongoing Business. You ‘Need’ to be there. People want to talk to you. Drum up some business…answer questions…give opinions… think tank with other innovators, etc. I love Nationals but I don’t have to be there. I don’t have a Business and I am not a critical component at any contest, lol.
He would say, ‘yah, I guess, but I’m already backed up at the Shop and if I go, I will just fall farther behind……so you gonna go’?
I would say, ‘Yes, I will go just so you won’t have another reason to not go’.
So…. I would meet him in the Lobby of the Holiday Inn. We would talk for a few minutes and then sure as heck, somebody would step into the Lobby to check in and say, ‘Hi Frank, just the guy I was looking for’. So I would tell Frank, I’ll catch you later homie.
Friday night…… all day Saturday through the evening……Sunday morning we would either go to breakfast or just meet down at the Birdinhand as people were getting ready to leave back home after saying their goodbyes and buying a few things at the toy store.
Frank and I would say goodbye and he would thank me for getting him to ‘Show up’. He would say, ‘I’m glad I made it. It was very productive running into some interesting motivating ideas and drumming up some more Business. But Mo, we never really got to hang out.
Frank would say, ‘it takes you about into 10 hours to drive back home. I might actually beat you home again. After you get home and unpack, call me up and we will talk.
I would laugh for at least a minute or two😂.
It was an amazing cycle that repeated itself on and off for some time.
If… I make it to my 73rd Birthday on March 18th, I can tell you without hesitation, that I have known many people around my ‘vintage’ that are ‘no longer living’ from one cause or another.
I’ve lost both parents in the last 4 years… and my favorite Uncle… and my best childhood friend…and. No doubt anybody that bothers to read this post, has lost somebody special, so this experience is nothing new to many.
But, something in my mind tells me that I don’t think anybody younger than me should die before me. Just the way I feel.
Frank, being younger, very close and passing so suddenly, really knocked me flat!
This post isn’t written to compare who feels the Worst.
And I ‘seldom’ use the word ‘hope’.
But I Hope that nobody feels worse about Difeo passing than I do.
Because if you do, I have a damn good idea of how you feel, sadly.
It is said that the passing of time, mends the heart.
We will see.
