Last year I struck up a pen pal relationship with a distant cousin. I actually wrote here about receiving that first letter as the joy of finding her letter had such a positive impact.
In an age when birthday greetings are sent on Facebook and mailboxes are stuffed with bills or junk mail, it was refreshing to receive fun mail.
Barbara and I shared book recommendations, stories about our lives and observations about the changing seasons. None of it important. In fact it was probably all trivial but it meant the world to me to communicate with a kindred spirit.
Her father was once a postmaster and she inherited from him a collection of stamps that she was using to send mail. Since they are decades old, it required a combination of stamps to equal modern postage rates and they weren’t the peel and stick kind either! Remember when we had to lick stamps? Man, they tasted bad.
So every envelope featured a variety of brightly colored little works of art that made receiving her correspondence an occasion. The fact these stamps were from her dad’s collection elevated her letters to the status of keepsake and I’m glad I kept them all.
She never mentioned this in our exchange and I didn’t ask because I figured she would volunteer the information if she wanted to discuss it – but she had cancer.
It was Melanoma that originated with a spot she had since childhood. It spread rapidly and treatments didn’t work.
In a long list of things I file under the heading Life Isn’t Fair, Barbara died on Sunday morning. She was just 68.
Its hard to believe that this creature who was full of curiosity and laughter, who naturally made everyone in the room feel important, and who had such an artful way with words is no longer with us.
In lieu of flowers, Barbara asked that people pay it forward by making a donation to a charity of their choice or by performing an act of kindness toward another. It’s a humble request from a good person.
So, if you’re reading this, I hope that you’ll take a moment to do something good for another. It needn’t be monetary or big. It can be anything that might brighten someone else’s day. Do it in her honor or in remembrance of another kind soul who has left your life.
This statue was unveiled in 2009. The creation of sculptor David Poulin, it depicts Lucy while she famously becomes intoxicated while pitching for Vitameatavegamin.
She really is lovely. This one depicts a truer to life Lucy, animated and full of movement. She’s quite realistic.
No visit to Jamestown, New York would be complete without a stop at the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum. Here you’ll find recreated sets, original costumes, props, home movies and more. They even have Emmy Awards representing the career of this famous pair and the show that catapulted them to television infamy.
Then there was Lucille Ball’s 1972 Mercedes Benz.
Plus the saxophone she learned to play for the show and the burlap dress Ricky had made for Lucy in Paris.
One of my favorite features was the home movies of Lucy and Desi when they were young and happy. The marriage didn’t end well so it’s nice to think they were happy at one time.
They relate some of Desi’s story too. He was born into a family of political power and wealth – his father was mayor of his hometown and his mother was a Bacardi Rum heiress. Political upheaval forced them to flee and start a new life in this country where he faced racism while building an empire and 
I also especially enjoyed the recreated sets of their New York apartment and the Hollywood Hotel where the Ricardos stayed while Ricky was filming a movie.
In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience here. Because this was the most important thing I wanted to do in Jamestown, I bought my ticket online before I left and arrived when they first opened at 10 a.m. to avoid any crowds. Turns out, there was no crowd at all – just me and a handful of others who seemed happy to wear their masks, use the hand sanitizer provided and stay away from others.
America’s favorite redhead was born in Jamestown, New York. This small city in the western part of the state is where she spent her early years and like many small town young people – she spent a lot of that time dreaming of her escape.
There are two statues of the famous comedian. One is beautiful, the other not so much. That’s a story for another day!
You can drive past her birthplace and childhood home as well. Both are private residences but passersby are welcome to pull over for a quick photo. I read that someone has purchased the childhood home with intentions of opening it as a museum but there was no activity afoot last week.
All of this can be done in a day and the museum provides a driving tour to make it easier. They call it the Lucytown tour and you can view it 
Comedy legend Lucille Ball was born and spent her formative years in Jamestown, New York. This city is just over five hours from my home and an ideal destination for a long weekend. I told you yesterday that I had ran away from home. This is where I went.
In this country, many doors were closed to Hispanic people and it was extraordinary for this Cuban man to be married to a white woman on television. What was more extraordinary was how enthusiastically American audiences embraced this unlikely couple.
These last few days have been pure bliss and even reminiscent of the good old days before the pandemic. That’s because I ran away from home, escaped reality and went adventuring.