A Little Piece of History Departs My Neighborhood

Mr. Thomas' daughter arrived a month ago from the East Coast to live with her father in the townhouse across the street. I was pleased she was here.  Mr. Thomas has been living alone there since his wife passed away in 2014.  Mr. Thomas is a member of my parents' generation, having been born in 1920.  He still drives his car to get his own groceries and does his own shopping.  A cleaning lady always came on Tuesdays until she decided not to after the Corona Virus Pandemic came and she feared giving him the virus.

Mr. Thomas and his daughter

When his daughter arrived in April,  I called her to find out how he was doing. Mr. Thomas is 99 1/2 years old and is getting hard of hearing so sometimes he does not pick up the phone when I call and frequently he cannot understand me anyway.  She told me he was doing well but this time when she returned to her home on the East Coast, she would be taking him with her.  I was happy to hear that.  Mr. Thomas has been very independent but his age and fragility, especially in this time of the Corona Virus, requires that someone be around him daily.

Mr. Thomas' daughter has been getting everything ready for the trip.  She got him a medical exam and the doctor's OK to move him.  She arranged for a caretaker and a security alarm system for his home.  Mr. Thomas' daughter graciously brought me and a a couple of other neighbors each a beautiful orchid plant as a "thank you'"  It's graceful beauty will always remind me of my gentle neighbor who had so many stories to tell after 100 years on this earth.

I met Mr. Thomas after my husband and I moved into our Foothills Albuquerque neigborhood in 2014.  We invited all the neighbors on my street to a Labor Day backyard BBQ.  Mr. Thomas explained that his wife was very ill and had just returned home for hospice care. But, he said he would be there.  He brought along a bottle of Spanish red wine.  He later delivered a beautiful hand-written note from his ill wife who expressed her regret that she couldn't attend and included a gracious welcome to the neighborhood.  His wife passed two months later without my ever meeting her in person.

My husband and I invited Mr. Thomas over for dinner.  He had the most interesting tales to tell of his life and travels.  He had been born in 1920 in NYC and spent his youth there.  He had been in vaudeville shows.  He joined the Army during the Korean War.  He had made many business connections in Europe and North Africa where he lived and traveled for many years.  He met his Swedish wife in Spain and his children were born in Spain.  In 1993, his wife and he were headed to California, looking for a new home to buy when they found their present home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and decided that this was a nice place to retire. My husband and he bonded over their mutual experience of international travels and sales.

My neighbors and I have kept in touch with Mr. Thomas over the years after his wife had passed, offering him rides to the store, getting his trash cans out and in each week, taking him little desserts during the holidays.  Now that he is returning to the east coast,  we will miss his 100th birthday celebration  (which will happen later this year).   His daughter has given me contact information, but I doubt I will ever see Mr. Thomas again.

I say goodbye to Mr. Thomas on May 2, 2020.

Today, Mr. Thomas will begin his cross country journey along with his daughter.  They must take three connecting flights to get back to NYC because no non-stop flights currently exist. I wish him well and hope this new chapter will be a good experience for him and his daughter.  Farewell, Mr. Thomas!