and a friend.
A few months ago, George Holloway left us. This 83 year old mensch was a veteran, a keen observer of human nature, and one wiseman who truly thought outside the box.
He was funny, entertaining and taught me to always look at a situation from another (sometimes odd) angle. He was a honcho in our Veterans Administration. I'm sure he performed his duties there with a watchful eye for doing the right thing for our retired military personnel. He was an all around good guy.
My fondest memory of George was bicycling the RAGBRAI with him. For those who do not know, the RAGBRAI is the two-wheeled fraternity/sorority party which crosses the state and the corn fields of Iowa.
Every ten miles or so, the ride passes through another clean, All American town. It's not Utah so there's bars along the route. We would stop, pull out our folding camp chairs, sit down and watch the show roll by. Of course, we had a can of Bud in our paws while doing so. We wouldn't say a word, just nudge each other if there was something or somebody worth noticing. When the beers were drained, we regained our bikes and proceeded on.
We rode side by side. Whenever George started a sentence with, "Did you ever notice..." I would listen up and pay attention. There was something profound and truthful coming my way. When he finished explaining his observation to me, I would think two things.
One) That makes sense.
Two) Why haven't I ever thought of that?
George, thanks for all you taught me through the years. I still use many of your classic lines when I speak and write. (He's featured in chapter one of Destroying Demons on the Diagonal).
You touched many people's lives in a positive way.
From cloudy Grand Junction this Memorial Day,
Jeff
