I have many dear friends that have passed away.
I was thinking about one of them tonite.
Hap.
Hap was a friend of my first husband. Hap owned
and ran a little-bit-of-everything store in Colorado -
he sold furniture, bicycles, hardware, school
supplies, candy, pictures, cleaning products, you
name it he had it! He looked like Art Carney,
complete with the hat and all :)
After my husband passed away and I returned to
Colorado, I had much wonderful support from
some of the greatest people I ever had the pleasure
of knowing. I remember them all to this day,
although I don't keep in contact with many of
them, and others have passed on.
Upon my return to Colorado, Hap would call me
early in the week and just ask me what time did
I want him to pick me up on Friday. "WHAT?"
Every Friday I was available, he'd pick me up.
We'd go out to dinner, sometimes on to drinking
and dancing. NEVER ONCE did he ever try to
hit on me or anything. We took turns paying
(my insistence) and we had a blast. He was
partial to chinese food, although he'd order steak and
drink coffee there :) On Mother's Day he insisted
on taking both me and my mother in law out
to dinner, as he said he missed his own mother
on that day. After I met my current significant
other, we all three still would go out sometimes,
thought not as often, my bad as my priorities
and schedule changed. And all three of us
enjoyed ourselves immensely! I really don't
remember how old Hap was, I know he looked
a bit older than his actual age.
Hap was brutally bludgeoned to death by
an employee's son early one morning while
he was getting ready to drive to Denver to
pick up goods. The son and his accomplice
were found guilty and are in prison for this
murder. This was all about money - the
$3,000 cash Hap had on him to buy the
goods. Hap would have given the boy the
money if he asked. It was a senseless
and brutal death. His store was closed and
never reopened under that name.
