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An extraordinary man is having his funeral services today in England.  Sadly, I cannot be there to celebrate his life amongst his friends and family.  Instead, I am remembering here, as well as always in my heart: Michael Thompson, father to Derry Thompson, my very good friend and business co-founder.

Derry and his dad, Mike

There is a common greeting on the east coast, especially in NJ, and depending on where you live,  it can be anything from a proper “How are you doing” to something more like on the TV show, The Sopranos, a slurred together almost hushed “How ya doIN?” to something more like what Joey on the TV show Friends would say, “How YOU doin?”  But no matter how I asked the question, Mike always gave me the same answer:   “Aces.”  If it was raining out, he was aces.  Sunny, he was aces.  If he lost at golf, he was still aces.  Year after year, he was aces.

Sometimes he answered me in brief, “I’m aces, Gloria.  I’m Aces.”  Other times he would elaborate, “I’m aces, Gloria.  I’m the luckiest man alive.  I have a wonderful family, good friends, good health, and enough money for my meager needs.”  He never said it in a boastful way, but a simple, matter of fact way.  “I’m Aces.”

While I am, as they say, on the other side of the pond, my mind is flooded with thoughts and emotions. I am remembering how exceptionally kind he was to me — the dinners, stories, and the many cups of tea we shared.   I am remembering how involved he was with so many things — golf four days a week, French lessons, table tennis, traveling, seeing shows in London, being on quiz teams, or spending time with his beloved family.  I am remembering my admiration for his determination in completing each day’s crossword puzzle, and I had always hoped that I could finally provide a helpful answer rather than my usual wide-eyed, deer caught in the headlights response.  Most of all I am remembering his upbeat demeanor and his ability to so fully appreciate his life.

A few years back he took a trip to the mid-west, and arranged to stay with a family in the Tennessee area.  He took a detour when he saw a sign for Paducah, remembering I had a quilt in the National Museum.  He saw the quilt, and I haven’t even seen it there yet!  I remember him telling me of the rain and floods.  He described how his rental car broke down, and how the people he was staying with had no electricity.  As I listened I said, “It sounds like it was the vacation from hell.”  He looked at me and said quite sincerely said, “Oh no.  It was all good fun.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.”  I asked, really?  “Yes.  Thumbs up, aces.” Never in my life did I ever meet anyone who on any given day was always feeling aces.

When my mom met Mike this past summer, she said she was glad to finally meet him and then asked, “How are you doing?”  “Aces,” he answered.  “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”  Recognizing that she wasn’t expecting such an answer, he went on to elaborate:  “It’s all about good friends and family, isn’t it.  And I have wonderful children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. I have it all.”  And have it all he did.

Derry’s dad was the true definition of gentleman and scholar, and I loved and admired him so. I am forever grateful that I had the opportunity to spend time with such an inspiring man: Mike, the man who was always aces.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 1:27 am and is filed under Misc. Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.