I have already found a few favourite places here.
It could be because of the people, the decor, the food or very likely the wine. One place I love is a little antique store on Main St in Windermere. It’s crammed full of art, sculpture and eclectic creativity, so full it spills out onto the street, it reminds me of home a little, the UK. We had so many places like this.
I have seen two people coming and going from here, a man and a woman, in fact I’d love to speak to them both for the project, we all chatted together today but for now the interview was with Joan.
Joan was a little guarded, she wasn’t particularly keen to be interviewed, once she had given me the once over she relaxed a little and without her realising it I got quite an insight into her life, her loves and the woman she is.
A little like me perhaps, strong, ambitious and a life seeker but maybe a few blows along the way have quietened her down, either way she had fire in her eyes. Mess her around and you’ll know about it but when this lady loves, she loves hard.
Name: Joan
Occupation: A retired Real Estate Broker for 30 years in Windermere now a Sales Assistant in the Antique Shop.
1.Where were you born and raised.
Fall River, Massachussetts. It was part of Massahussetts that was a big Mill Town at the turn of the century, it was filled with immigrants from all over Europe and the Middle East. All of the immigrants lived in their own areas and there was always a Catholic Church for each group and school. Just a Middle class town for a long time until the Mills closed down and now it has deteriorated a lot.
2.Tell me a childhood memory.
‘My elementary school was wonderful. It was St Patricks and it was a lot of Irish kids went there, I happened to be probably the only Lebanese girl that ended up there but I would be in the big plays and productions that we would put on every year. Irish dancing and singing, we would have people come in and teach us the dances and songs and it was a lot of fun. I am still in touch with a lot of the people that I went to school with. My best friend was Barbara Jean Howard, I talk to her and write to her.’
3.What is your favourite season and why?
‘Well, I used to love summer and I used to go to the beach all the time. I have lived in Florida for so long, that was a big part of my life, just going to the beach and hanging out, walking, but now that I stay out of the sun I look forward to Winter because I like the cooler weather, it reminds me of being up North.’
4.Tell me about someone you love.
‘I loved my husband for 41 years and he passed away a few years ago, he was a wonderful, wonderful man. We had the greatest marriage, he was my soulmate, he was everything to me. His name was Dutch, he had a very strong personality, just to look at him you would think he was strong. His birth name was Gary but he was on the radio and he was from Pennsylvania originally so they nicknamed him at the University of Florida Pennsylvania Dutch, so thats how he got the name. He promoted bands and singers and he was responsible in a big way for KC and the Sunshine bands success, he took them on the road. On one big tour we went all over the country to the big state fairs. We were all on big beautiful buses but when we got to the locations we’d have a hotel and I got to go to a lot of places and saw a lot of people screaming and having a good time enjoying the music. That was a lot of fun, I enjoyed that a lot.’
5. What words of wisdom do you have for the reader about life?
‘I think you have to have a strong belief in God, thats what gets me through my day, if it wasn’t for my Lord and Saviour I don’t know where I’d be. Thats something everyone should look into I feel because I don’t understand people who don’t have that in their life how they can get through it. Just forgive people for any mistakes that might make or any harm that may come to you through them. You just have to be a forgiving person.’
6. Dreams for the future.
‘I am about to become a great Grand Mother so I am looking forward to that and to be a great Great Grandmother and helping whenever I can. It’s a little girl, due on July the 4th, my birthday.’
Joan completely misses her husband, which should be the case but isn’t always.
I’d like to get to know her more, she’s definitely a lady that plays her cards close to her chest, as she should.
We talked lots about life, christianity, the price of petrol!
It’s hard to approach the subject, introduce myself and get started but once we sit down to talk its perfect. I feel like I am making so many friends and hopefully introducing people here online, if you read this and know them say hi, ask them if they are doing ok and tell them you liked their story.
