Thanks for the memories, Karen

I learned this week that an old friend from my real estate days died.  It had been quite awhile since I last talked to her.  It hadn't even been a week before this that I thought about her and wondered how she was doing.

Karen was one of those people that when she was around, there was going to be laughter and good times.  Though she had much to be unhappy about, you would never know it to be around her.

Since hearing of her death, I've found myself thinking of the fun times we had.  We were a close knit group  in that Nothnagle office.  One winter, another agent, Ellen, and I went skiing one day.  On the second run of the day, Ellen fell and injured her knee.  Word quickly spread in the office, "Hey, don't go anywhere with that Sherry Bennett, you'll get hurt!"  So the following summer, Karen and I went on a canoe camping trip to the Adirondacks.  Sitting around the campfire one night we decided to go back to the office on Monday and Karen would wear a sling on her arm and tell everyone she broke her arm on a canoe trip with me!  It worked!  Except that Karen could keep a straight face.  I couldn't.

On another occasion, one of my signs was taken from a property I had listed.  That bothered me.  The next week someone called the office and asked them to relay a message to me where my sign could be found.  This person did not want to leave a voice mail for me.  Yes, I was suspicious.  The location given was a rural, sparsely populated area on the west side of town.  "Come on, Karen," I said.  She was the first person I saw after I got this message.  "We're going for a ride."

Without even asking what was up, Karen picked up her bag and off we went.  I explained the situation as we pulled out of the parking lot of the office.  "Oh, this sounds like fun!" she said.

She could tell I was a bit rattled about the whole thing.  We drove along for ten minutes or so and finally she asked, "You got your gun?"

That broke the tension and I laughed uncontrollably.  We found my sign and retrieved it without incident.  Probably some stupid kid's idea of fun.

Karen had a Christmas party one year at her tiny apartment.  It was a great time and everyone enjoyed it.

Rest in peace, Karen.  You spread sunshine in the lives of a lot of people who were fortunate to know you.