Venus
You could hear the laughter and the love from every corner of the house-our House…Hernandez House. I have long forgotten the “Hernandez” she was named for, but I have pleasant memories of this house — a grey, two story Craftsman, with white trim.
I made and have lost so many friends here; Art, Teddy, Russell, my Petey, and so many others- their essence forever connected to this place, held here within.
The music filled the rooms and the singing echoed in the halls- I can picture them all gathered around the piano, with Bob Milrad at the helm, his fingers racing across the keys, leading us in the highest energy rendition of every show tune ever written!
My favorite was always Bing Crosby’s “Love Is Just Around The Corner”-
Bob would invite me to sit next to him on the old bench as he played…I knew all the lyrics and they were hopeful and happy…no matter how many times he played it, night after night, I never tired of it.
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Here we were, singing a silly song, our voices in a chorus of others, everyone smiling, and I used to wonder why Bob played for us whenever he was there and one day I realized the truth…
He played because for every minute he tinkled the ivories, for every song he belted out in his unforgettably beautiful Tenor voice, we all forgot…
We could put out of our collective minds that our friends were dying from a horrible virus at an alarming rate. At this moment in time someone died of AIDS every seven seconds!
But not while Bob was playing- his melodies took us to another place in time where we weren’t losing people we loved, instead we celebrated every single glorious minute we could all be together.
I wish I had the foresight to know how special what he did for us was!
I wish I had thanked him, maybe I did, but if not…
Bob : thank you for your heart and your songs and your welcomed distraction… it meant so much and when I remember our beloved friends who are long gone — you are always in the happiest memories ❤️
