My Friend John
It was 1962 and I was 27 years old when I first met my lifelong pal John. I had just opened my first and only dental practice on Parsons Boulevard and 89th Avenue in Jamaica. I was fresh out of the army and in my naïveté, I went to meet the local dentists who were close to my office. I thought it was the professional procedure to follow.
I entered the office of a dentist diagonally across the street from my location. His less than encouraging words to me were “You will starve in that office!” I was shocked, depressed and frightened when I left his office.
A friendly dental supply salesman calmed my fears and told me to see John, another local dentist. I visited John in his office, and he was more than kind. Through the years, we became fast friends and we attended each other’s family functions. On his long vacations to his Greek homeland, I saw his emergency patients. He saw mine when I took my time off from practice.
John had four boys and his wife, Urania, was an angel. Why was she an angel? Because she laughed loud and hard at my corny jokes. She died suddenly, and John withdrew from many activities.
Recently, John retired from dentistry and he turned his office over to his son John Jr., also a dentist. He also remarried another very fine woman. John was not feeling well and he told me that he would call me when he felt better.
I had not received a call from him in a while and last week, I called him. His wife said she was sorry she had not notified me of his passing, but John had requested a small, quiet funeral and to be cremated. I was thunderstruck and deeply saddened.
We would always tell each other jokes and dental experiences on the phone, but now he was gone. Old friends are not easy to come by or replace, and they are missed greatly.
This is my tribute to John, who welcomed me into my dental practice 49 years ago. I retain many wonderful memories of our long relationship.
