![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Derry_Mike.jpg\" "\\"Derry_Mike\\"")
Derry and his dad, Mike<\/p><\/div>\n
There is a common greeting on the east coast, especially in NJ, and depending on where you live,\u00a0 it can be anything from a proper \u201cHow are you doing\u201d to something more like on the TV show, The Sopranos<\/em>, a slurred together almost hushed \u201cHow ya doIN?\u201d to something more like what Joey on the TV show Friends<\/em> would say, \u201cHow YOU doin?\u201d\u00a0 But no matter how I asked the question, Mike always gave me the same answer:\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAces.\u201d\u00a0 If it was raining out, he was aces.\u00a0 Sunny, he was aces.\u00a0 If he lost at golf, he was still aces.\u00a0 Year after year, he was aces.<\/p>\n Sometimes he answered me in brief, \u201cI\u2019m aces, Gloria.\u00a0 I\u2019m Aces.\u201d\u00a0 Other times he would elaborate, \u201cI\u2019m aces, Gloria.\u00a0 I\u2019m the luckiest man alive.\u00a0 I have a wonderful family, good friends, good health, and enough money for my meager needs.\u201d\u00a0 He never said it in a boastful way, but a simple, matter of fact way.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m Aces.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I am remembering my admiration for his determination in completing each day\u2019s 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.\u00a0 Most of all I am remembering his upbeat demeanor and his ability to so fully appreciate his life.<\/p>\n A few years back he took a trip to the mid-west, and arranged to stay with a family in the Tennessee area.\u00a0 He took a detour when he saw a sign for Paducah, remembering I had a quilt in the National Museum.\u00a0 He saw the quilt, and I haven’t even seen it there yet!\u00a0 I remember him telling me of the rain and floods.\u00a0 He described how his rental car broke down, and how the people he was staying with had no electricity.\u00a0 As I listened I said, \u201cIt sounds like it was the vacation from hell.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at me and said quite sincerely said, \u201cOh no.\u00a0 It was all good fun.\u00a0 I thoroughly enjoyed myself.\u201d\u00a0 I asked, really?\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 Thumbs up, aces.\u201d Never in my life did I ever meet anyone who on any given day was always feeling aces.<\/p>\n When my mom met Mike this past summer, she said she was glad to finally meet him and then asked, \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cAces,” he answered.\u00a0 “I\u2019m the luckiest man in the world.\u201d\u00a0 Recognizing that she wasn\u2019t expecting such an answer, he went on to elaborate:\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all about good friends and family, isn\u2019t it.\u00a0 And I have wonderful children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. I have it all.\u201d\u00a0 And have it all he did.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An extraordinary man is having his funeral services today in England.\u00a0 Sadly, I cannot be there to celebrate his life amongst his friends and family.\u00a0 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. There is a common greeting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-misc-personal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6971"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6997,"href":"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6971\/revisions\/6997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.gloriahansen.com\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Derrys-Dad1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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