As I have been writing about some of my friends in this JO ANN's Friends blog, I have realized that some of the friends that I now consider lifelong friends were once my bosses, so I am writing some blog posts that are dedicated to those wonderful people who hold a very special place in my heart since they had a part in shaping my life. We met because of work, but as the years passed, when we no longer worked together, we connected again and discovered that we were friends for life. How COOL is that!
In this blog post, I am writing about Lori who I consider the "coolest boss" and the "coolest friend" ever! Enjoy the story of our friendship which is below.
 |
| Lori, JO ANN, and Dan - September 1989 |
My husband Dan and I moved from Long Beach, California to San Francisco in April of 1988. We lived right in "The City" until almost the end of 1991. I took a brief break from teaching skating when we moved to San Francisco, and for a time, both Dan and I worked for a religious organization that had an office in the Haight-Ashbury district. (Our office was very near the corner of Haight and Ashbury!)
Lori was our supervisor, but also became our friend. Dan tells me he liked working for Lori so much that when she decided to leave the organization, that he knew he could not work under anyone else, so that prompted our decision to also leave at the end of 1991.
Let me tell you a little about Lori then and Lori now:
First of all, Lori was the greatest boss ever! She never got mad and made all of us who worked under her want to go to work and do a good job. She came up with the idea of having staff meetings every Monday morning at our different homes. We shared a breakfast together and laughed together as we talked about our work and made plans for the coming week. Starting the week off with a breakfast meeting in a home just didn't seem like work and that was because Lori made the work we did, which was not always pleasant, almost fun.
The Lori of "then" had this way of making people want to hang out with her. She played the guitar and mandolin and also the drums. I also remember she could do quite a good rap and was a good actress.
Lori was always willing to talk when someone needed to talk. She just had a way of making every person she interacted with feel important. Every person that was around Lori felt like Lori was his or her close friend, and she made time for every person who needed her.
Lori rented this very large flat in San Francisco's Sunset District that was furnished with furniture to show that she was our boss. I'm not sure she liked the furniture or not, but she was told that garage sale furniture would not do, so she complied. I also recall she bought some fancy business like clothes to go with her supervisor status, but I always had the feeling she wanted to just wear jeans.
One Thanksgiving a bunch of us had a potluck dinner at Lori's large flat. I remember there were very few cooking utensils in the apartment, but we all enjoyed the time at Lori's very much. Lori made all of us, who were away from family, feel like a family in San Francisco.
Dan and I had a 10 year renewal of our wedding vows in 1989 and Lori did all the work that went into that wonderful celebration!
Once, we all went out to eat to celebrate Lori's 30th birthday. I recall she wore black to celebrate the occasion! Then, one by one, each one of us took photos with Lori in her black attire! (Note: I will scan some of those photos soon and add them to this blog post.)
Just before the three of us left San Francisco and the religious organization at the end of 1991, I remember going out for Japanese food with Lori. She was very impressed when Dan and I both ate sushi for the first time and liked it. Lori always had a way of noticing little things like that!
After Dan and I moved to Colorado at the end of 1991, we may have lost touch with Lori for a few years, but somehow, through the internet in the late 1990s-early 2000s, we got back in touch and began exchanging frequent email letters. As we exchanged emails we discovered that we had so much in common in our thoughts about religion and politics and life. Exchanging emails was just "plain fun" and I remember Lori said that sometimes she'd run to her computer in the morning before she went to work to read our email letters. Dan and I did the same thing!
Through those emails, we learned that Lori was working for the Red Cross in Long Beach, California and living in Los Angeles. Then, in 2002, we took a trip from Colorado to Long Beach to see family. Just before we began the long drive back to Colorado, we stopped at the Red Cross offices in Long Beach and got to see Lori. That was the highlight of that trip for both me and Dan. During that short visit at the Red Cross offices, Lori was so excited to meet our then little kids, Joel, Rebekah, and Annabelle. I remember she said she knew we were great parents since she remembered how we played with puppets back in our San Francisco days.
Time passed. We continued exchanging emails and then Facebook came along so we were able to be in contact more frequently. We learned that Lori moved to North Carolina and was working on a Ph.D. It took her awhile to complete her doctorate degree, but she now holds the title of Assistant Professor at St. Louis University and her students address her with the distinguished Dr. title. I've heard that she is one of the most popular professors ever!
Even though we are not physically around Lori these days, we know that Lori still makes time for anyone who needs her. In October of 2015, my then 19-year old daughter Rebekah needed someone to talk to (besides me, her mom) and Lori spent several hours on the phone with Rebekah. Lori helped Rebekah get through something at the time that seemed like a crisis and I'm so grateful for the time she spent on the phone with Rebekah. She helped Rebekah so much.
Music is still a big part of Lori's life. She is in a band in North Carolina called The Beauty Operators. Someday I hope to see the group perform. From what I see on Facebook, being part of that band makes Lori so happy.
 |
| Dinner Out in St. Louis With Lori - December 12, 2017 |
In December of 2017, my daughter Annabelle and my dad and I went to St. Louis for something skating related. One of the highlights of that trip was getting to see Lori! We got to light Chanukah candles together on the first night of Chanukah and then we out to the greatest Asian restaurant ever. The evening went too fast! Annabelle really enjoyed meeting Lori and tells me now she knows that not all my friends are "weird." (Typical teenage reaction to Mom's friends:) Lori told Annabelle about how she knew way back then that Dan and I were great parents and told Annabelle about how her parents played with puppets!
Yes, Lori was the "coolest boss" ever and is the "coolest friend." We have a lifelong friendship that I do treasure. Thank you Lori for your friendship! And...hugs!
 |
| JO ANN and Lori - 1990 |
 |
| Dan, JO ANN, and Lori - 1990 |
No comments:
Post a Comment