Memorial Service for Janet

We want to have a Memorial Service and to give people as much time as possible to schedule it. We are thinking Feb 23, 2013, near Everett Washington, which is just north of Seattle.

I was thinking of a lunch time meeting somewhere. Where depends on how many are coming, so please RSVP just to give us an idea, but surprise guests will be OK if it turns out that way. Please do not, NOT come.

Some mentioned that they feel like so many friends and especially relatives have known Janet for 30 or 40 years and they just knew her a few months, weeks or even less.

I appreciate your sensitivity, but to paraphrase Rumi, “Everyone is welcome! Come as you are.” This is a meeting of ‘the friends of Janet’. Heck. There may be people coming that have never met her. So, what are _you_ worried about?

Dress code? What dress code? I will be in blue jeans and a fleece. Dress warmly. Everett in Feb is not Tahiti. Come as you are, but come.

We are celebrating her short, but excellent life. This is an expression of “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” So, let’s really “smile because it happened!” big time.

Most of you have never met each other. We have commented before that some of our friends don’t particularly like some of our other friends. So, pretend for one day. Janet is the reason. Is she worth it or not?

Who knows, you might have an epiphany and actually like some new, sometimes strange, sometimes _seemingly_ordinary_ people. (But are they really? Or is it a clever disguise?) . If Janet liked them, they are good folks. We have dear friends that are multimillionaires (always nice to have rich friends) and dear friends that don’t have two nickels to rub together. I will leave it to you to figure out which is which.

You have surely noticed that we enjoy a diverse mixture. We really like you, so we must have excellent taste in friends. Give some of these other goofballs a chance.

Regarding having satellite services in distant lands, attending by Skype, having your country declare National Janet Month or whatever…

That is great. We love to save money and think outside the box, but I, Dave, have a lot on my plate and need to be careful to not drown in busy work. We some ‘friends of Janet’ near London that are looking for more. So, email me if you want their email addresses. I know Southern California has several, but as long as your heart carries Janet along and she frequently makes you smile or laugh or she taught you something or you taught her something, then it is all worthwhile. Just be very glad that you knew her, just as she was proud to have known you and then get on with living each day to the max, because as our US Navy Seal friend taught us, “Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”

Let’s celebrate having known Janet Marjorie Erken, 1946 to 2013. We are truly blessed. And please take time to cherish the many other people that are presently blessing your life. Give them a smile or a hug or, as two of our friends wrote recently.

A very Yorkshire punch on the upper arm for being such a great person to know – that’s the height of emotion in the North of England :-)

Dave

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