Sorry about starting a new thread but I can't find my old thread.

Last Mon¨day we held a memorial for Amy Nakamura. She died recently at the age of 97. I only knew her from her connection with our water aerobics classes. She was our instructor's mother and she used to count the repetitions for each exercise... and she was the matriarch of our group.

We used to have monthly pot luck parties at the pool. Not being a good cook (my only specialty is tin can cuisine) After Jay opened the table and everyone had their food i would stand up and annouce i didn't contribute to the meal and I would have to "sing for my supper" so to speak. Then I would share a song with the group. One of my favorite memories is me singing Away Rio to Amy as she sat in her wheelchair.

When I arrived at the memorial Jay asked if I was going to sing. I hadn't prepared anything but then I thought of Away Rio. Not something one would normally hear at a memorial but I've never been described as normal and I think Amy would agree. I agreed to sing. Jay said she'd track down the microphone. In the meantime I circulated and ate the delicious goodies.

In the end I did not sing. Poor Jay couldn't take two steps without being interrupted. Her original mission was never accomplished and we ran out of time. But it was wonderful to see all the friends who turned out to share their memories.

Jay apologized profusely about not finding the microphone and turning off the muzak. I'll try to sing something for Amy at our next pot luck... whenever that occurs.