George

When I was doing race timing for around a decade one of the people I dealt closely with was George who also ran the local running store for a number of years. He used to organize a bunch of races and has been involved in the running club for many years. When I stopped timing races in 2016 my contact with George faded away. He always impressed me as a very intelligent and stand up guy. He went out of his way to let me know he appreciated me as well. I consider George a friend.

Out of the blue today I get a call from our receptionist that a man named George was here to see me? I walked out front and there he was, a little older but still basically the same guy I have known for coming up on 20 years. He was in the area and stopped by because he wanted to say hi, and goodbye. Evidently George and his wife are moving to northern Florida very soon to be near family. I was surprised by the news almost as much as I was surprised he took the time to come in and say goodbye in person. But then again, maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised because that is just the type of guy George is.

We caught up a bit on what our lives have looked like the last few years as the last time I spent considerable time with him was at his 70th birthday party some three years ago. He was surprised to hear that I now live in town but was happy for me. After talking for a few minutes in the middle of our lobby I shook George’s hand and placed my left hand on top, something I do when I feel true appreciation for someone. I thanked him for taking the effort to come and see me and wished him the best of luck on his new adventure. I want to be more like George…