My friend, Joan Koppelman – you may visit her website at: http://joankoppelman.wordpress.com/
Joan passed away (without real fair warning) on September 30, 2013 – though I did not find out about her passing until her husband, Jack emailed me a month later. Of course it would take him at least a month before he could say anything. Those two were inseparable; they were two bumps on a log who were supposed to forever get real, real old together to the point where neither could get out of the rocking chairs and they would just be found on the front porch holding hands with the grin of old death on their wrinkly faces! But no, that’s not what happened. Someone gave them the damn, WRONG script!!! %^$$%#@! wrong script!!!
Jack and Joan lived with us about 15 years ago; at least, maybe 18 years ago, I don’t quite remember. They were in between houses and needed a place to stay, so I shifted the house around a bit and moved our bedroom into my studio; they and their daughter Hope lived upstairs – their son Jay was off in college; our two older kids had already left home (so I know it had to be sometime after 1996). We lived together peacefully for about two months before they found their new home. We took turns making and sharing dinners each night; during the day, we each had our respective rooms to work – they were self-employed and so were we, so no one went anywhere to “go to work.” Our house isn’t that big, only 2300 square feet, though none of us really got in one another’s way; it didn’t even feel like we had another family living in our house! When someone would come to the door for the Hudson’s or for the Koppelman’s, the other would say: “uh,…just wait a moment and I will check to see if they are home…!”
I know Jack and his family are adjusting big time. Words cannot describe this loss. It is way too hard to imagine Jack without Joan; impossible. It’s not supposed to be so, and yet damn it that the script they received is what it is!