It just so happened that the day cousin, Sharon, and
I planned to take our annual nostalgia trip to the “country”, Sharon had to
report for Jury duty. After a couple of
days delay, on Wednesday, May 1st, we were finally able to leave
Albany, NY for our brief journey down memory lane. As soon as these plans were confirmed, I
called to tell Golden that we would be driving through Delhi the next day and
were hoping to meet him for coffee. A
woman answered the phone; she told me that Golden was staying overnight at his
sister’s home in order to transport her to her medical treatments. I asked if she was Golden’s wife and she said,
“Yes”. She also told me that her name
was Betsy, and she had heard about me from Golden. She sounded very pleasant and even offered to
meet us at the Delhi Diner so that, in Golden’s absence, she could direct us to
the Hamden Cemetery. Betsy was aware
that I had been hoping to visit the nearby grave-site
of “my man”, Lyle Decker. I guess my memories from a special, summer vacation romance needed this concrete step for some sort of closure. I can’t begin to explain why this was important to me since I don’t even know why myself, but I really wanted to say my ‘good-bye”.
I was surprised at Betsy’s willingness to meet us at
the Diner, but I was grateful for her generosity and explained to her that given
the information from my car’s GPS, we would probably arrive there sometime between
11:15 AM and 11:30 PM. Since we had
never met before, I simply told her to be on the lookout for two “old Ladies”
that that seemed to be wandering. The
night before Sharon and I left, I put a hard-copy printing of my blog entitled,
The Decker Brothers, into my vehicle, in case Betsy hadn’t had the opportunity
to read my little memoir. I also brought
a coffee table book about Elvis Presley as a token gift to show my appreciation
for her kindness.
Perhaps, given the facts above, you can imagine my
surprise when we parked across the street from the Delhi Diner and walked into the
man himself, Golden Decker! I
discovered later that he had tried to call my cell phone earlier that morning
to advise us of the change in plans. I
was already driving and didn’t recognize the phone number; therefore we never
got the message. It was certainly a shocking surprise and a truly amazing experience
to meet this older “teenager” once again.
But one of the most overwhelming feelings I experienced that day was the
immense love that Betsy showed to her husband and shared with us, perfect
strangers. She went to relieve Golden
of his responsibilities so that he would be free to come and meet us. What kind of a woman does such a thing? All I can say is, “thank you, Betsy for your
wonderful act of selflessness and love” and “Golden Decker, you are blessed
with a truly wonderful wife.’
After our lunch at the Delhi Diner, (thanks for the
treat, Golden!), we jumped in our vehicle and followed Golden “down the road a
piece” (this is an old country saying, in case you didn’t know). We stopped at a house that Golden told me had
been Lyle’s home and I, of course, took a photo. Then we drove over a quaint little covered
bridge to one of the loveliest resting places I have ever seen, The Hamden Cemetery.
I learned the sad truth that Golden had already
had to bury a son, Rory. I also stood
next to “my man’s grave”, Lyle E. Decker (1943 – 1995) and sadness flowed
through my “teenage heart”. We met Golden’s
gentle golden “puppy” Mugsie, who had been waiting quietly and obediently in his
vehicle while we reminisced. We walked around the cemetery briefly on this cool,
cloudy, overcast day and I felt a certain sense of peace. Golden pointed us towards Lake Oquaga, we
said our good-byes, and Sharon and I were off to the Lake of our teenage years.
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