Friendship Stories

It hardly seems possible, but three weeks ago I lost a dear friend to an untimely and unexpected death. For over 35 years Lydia Wells and I were the best of friends. As with many friends, we started out as work colleagues--for us in the Kentucky Department of Education. For a time we even shared an office, which worked out great. Lydia Wells was the mathematician and technology pioneer. I was the English major, writer and grammarian. She taught me math skills that I hadn't learned in high school and college and provided my first intro to computers and technology. I taught her to write letters and presentations that wouldn't put listeners or readers to sleep with boring education jargon. We kept up with this reciprocal learning outside the workplace as well. (This photo of us is from 2002, Lydia on the right. We're planning a trip to France.)

Since Lydia Wells' funeral, three close friends have been trying to carry out her last wishes. Those of you who knew her would not be surprised to learn that she had specific written directives for settling her affairs. The main thing was protecting her privacy and not being tacky with the way things were done--and, most importantly, finding a good home for her two beloved cats, Olive and Edith Ann. To that end, the Three Amigos, have been following her directions while sorting though her belongings. Along the way, we have found things that have made us laugh and cry as we remembered all the good times we had together. Yesterday I was thrilled to find this blast from the past, Lydia Wells' hand embroidered cutoffs from the 1960s hippie days! I remember her wearing these cutoffs--once for a formal dinner where she made individual shrimp molds and eclairs for dessert--all served on the fine family china and silver. The honored guest for this dinner was my new border collie puppy Zack.

Lydia Wells added to her "wearable art" as she developed new interests--flower gardening, palm trees for Jimmy Buffet and visits to Florida, animals that she loved, and a small airplane that she added when she got her amateur pilots license (which explains her Kittyhawk blogname--before that it was her CB moniker!). These cutoffs reminded me of another jeans related story. Lydia Wells was a great fancy needleworker, but she wasn't very handy with more pedestrian sewing like mending. Once she prepared my tax returns and I mended some jeans for her in return. As luck would have it, I got audited that year. So, like any good accountant, she went with me to the hearing. When the auditor asked if I'd paid her for her services. She said "Yes, she mended these jeans!" He burst out laughing much to the surprise of others in the office. I guess there's not much laughing at the IRS office?

I miss Lydia Wells so much, as do her many other close friends. She was passionate about many things--learning something new or challenging projects, helping animals and people, protecting the environment. She loved beauty in art and her home, travel, music, plays, and reading. I am blessed to have her as a friend and companion for these many years. Thanks for the memories, Lydia Wells.