I don't know why I'm having difficulty writing this entry, except that I considered him (and his wife) a good friend and when I start thinking about his death, I have this hole in my heart that starts to hurt.
He was 93, so his death was not surprising, but he seemed like someone who would live forever.
Those who have read this journal for many years will know Cap because he was "the psychiatrist" about whom I wrote many times. I don't know exactly when I started transcribing for him, but I worked for him for thirty years and learned the secrets of a lot of people in town!
I can remember the times he called in the evening to ask if I could transcribe a tape by morning and then would send his wife (Helen Thomson, who was Democratic assemblywoman from California's 8th Assembly) over in her bathrobe and slippers to drop off the tape to me.
You can read his many professional accolades in the Enterprise column...too many for me to list here. I just remember him as a friend, and as the banjo player in the group, Putah Creek Crawdads. I did a couple of articles about them for the Davis Enterprise when they were releasing their CDs.
He and Helen hosted the best New Year's Eve party for about 30 years, where there was always music by the Crawdads and lots of food...with black eyed peas at midnight. I don't see a lot of people in town in my daily life, but all of our good friends were at that party each year and we watch them get older and older, the party usually starting with an "organ recital" as we all shared which body parts had been affected during the previous year.
Cap always made me feel good about myself whenever I saw him and a few times when I needed "professional advice" he listened to me and gave me good advice and never charged me.
He was Scottish and there was a lot of Scotland about him and his house. The last time I saw him was after COVID became a part of our lives. Helen had a birthday party for him, where everyone stood outside, masked, and listened to a bag piper who stood on their lawn and played. I don't know how many in the crowd were friends because we were all masked!
His birthday was July 4 and I made a birthday cake for him for several years, when I was doing cake decorating, always with a 4th of July theme.
His death won't have a big impact on my life today, but I will forever be sad that he is no longer here, even if I rarely saw him.
He was such a special guy. And one of his 3 kids (I don't remember which one) was a good friend of one of our kids...David, I think.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
I am sorry for your loss.
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