TIME AND FRIENDSHIP

Time flies by, especially at this age, but there are no fewer hours in the day than there were fifty or sixty years ago, or a thousand years ago; it is just an illusion that time passes more quickly. It's not true, only that you become more aware of it, that's all.

When we look back at the artists we have known, loved and worked with over the years, it seems like so many of them have left us. There was that wonderful gentleman, the one who always seemed to be smiling, Alex Dzigurski. What a kind and lovely man he was, as well as a genuine artist. He was a good businessman, and also a good teacher, as evidenced by the work of his son, Alex Jr.
I remember years ago when Alex went to Vienna, Austria, to meet his sister, whom he had not seen in years, the years since he fled his homeland and Communism. He would never, never go to a communist country again. When he returned from Austria, I met him that Saturday in his home and told him I needed some more of his paintings to sell to my clients. He had nothing ready, but was stretching his own canvas that day. Four days later, when I returned to his home, he had six paintings for me, all of them beautiful seascapes, and some partially finished paintings were in his studio. He too loved America and in his chosen profession, he became another success story. I valued his friendship, and I know that you did also. It was another of those business relationships that turned into a close and dear friendship, and a strong bond between us. Again, it is like walking a tight-rope at times, but we can manage it if we try.

Above is another picture that I don't think you've ever seen, but it is a good one of you and Eugene. Remember the day we drove to Sacramento and went to his home? My relationship with Eugene began about 1959 or 1960, and went on for years, until his death. Here again was a success story that could only happen in America! In 1945, he was a Russian prisoner of the Germans in Italy, and after a period of time in Argentina, he finally made his way to the United States. Friendships? You have to work at them to keep them alive, be true to your friends, because one day they leave us, as Eugene Garin did, as Alex Dzigurski did, as Jim Fetherolf did.

Then, there is the 3rd verse in the poem, TOMORROW:

Today is the day to say softly, "I love you,"
And today is the day to generously give,
Saying, "I'm sorry" may be the right thing to do,
Or whispering gently, "I forgive."

How blessed we were with such friends, such artists, that great sense of humor that always bubbled to the surface with Jim Fetherolf, his perfect timing to pull off a gag. Friendships are blessed things, whatever you want to call them, they come from deep within each person, and I pity those who have never experienced them. Some of mine go back more than sixty years but they're...well, dying off.