Gladys Merek My Special Neighbor

Great Neighbor Gladys Merek and Me

We moved into our home on a rainy November day. In only a few weeks we were mired in snow. Husband and I weren’t used to the early wet, heavy snowfall. It looked like winter might go on forever.

On one of those nasty, knee-deep snowy days, we met Bob—about 82 at the time. We later learned he’d survived a bout with cancer and a heart attack, but still he shoveled snow up the alley between our houses. Husband and I grabbed shovels and started helping and later, Gladys called us all in for coffee. 

When I realized Gladys suffered from the winter ‘blahs’ I wrote funny poems for her. She enjoyed them and they brought a smile to Bob’s face, too. Somehow their smiles warmed my mired-in-winter- feeling-gloomy heart.

Both Gladys and Bob are gone now, but recently I read those old poems and today I found one of my last photos of Gladys. Her daughter surprised her with a visit to one of my book signings at Barnes and Noble—she was near 90 at the time. What a delightful surprise for both of us.   

There are new people living in Gladys and Bob’s home now, they are nice and have four children. But my memories of Gladys are special. No one can fill that ‘Gladys’ spot in my heart. 

Still Lionhearted, Kat