A Friend Died

I'm headed to Watervale in the morning. I was supposed to be there today, but I spent the day following up on all the leads I got at The Mane Event last night. Although I hated missing a day of vacation, I will benefit from the work I did today for years to come.

Watervale is a place where time has stood still. There is one phone in the entire resort. No internet access. No tv. Cell phone service is sketchy. Heck, the rooms don't even have keys to the doors. There is nothing to do, unless you can entertain yourself and survive without all the modern conveniences. Families spend time hiking, biking, canoeing, playing tennis, fishing, and hanging out on the beach during the day. Nights are filled with board games, cards, reading, the drive-in, beach fires, staying up late hoping to see the Northern Lights and watching the Perseids Meteor Showers. The only air conditioning is provided by Mother Nature.

The thing about this trip is that I spend the week with the same families I've been seeing this week for as long as I can remember and although we are vacation friends I keep in touch with some of them all year long.

My dad called an hour ago to find out my estimated time of departure and in the course of our conversation told me that my friend Julia died. I was stopped in my tracks. She was 24 or 25 and I've known her most of her life. Her family is one of my favorites and and she was a newlywed, having gotten married last year in Israel. She was a shining light of a young woman.

I don't know all the details, but my dad said she went to the hospital with a non-life threatening illness, developed an infection that spread to her lungs and she died.

Watervale won't be the same without her and I will miss her.