Yes, lemon trees have thorns, really big thorns. Also not the best tasting sour fruit. You can complain about those aspects of lemons, or you can make lemonade. Really good lemonade.
Which brings me to the real topic of this week's column: George "Del" Hovey. Del was a colleague of mine at the wholesale flower-seed company at which I work, Goldsmith Seeds in Gilroy, California. He died recently of a sudden illness at the all too-young age of 47.
Del will be remembered for many things. Loving husband to wife, Maria. Great father to son, Pablo, and daughters, Diana and Nicole. Fun-loving basketball and soccer coach to many youth in the community. Beer-drinking buddy to fellow bowlers, bicyclists and Fantasy Football League colleagues...
One remembers the little things at times like these. I was the commissioner of our Fantasy Football League at work. Del's team was The Serengeti, named for his love of Kenya where he managed a seed-production farm for many years. The Serengeti ran away with the championship this past season, winning by more than 200 points over the closest competition.
More often than not, Del would either win or, at the very least, be in the weekly money. Come Tuesday morning (after Monday Night Football), a bemused Del would saunter over to my desk to pick up his winnings. I would have his winnings in an envelope marked with his name. Each week he would always say the same thing. Grinning all the time, he would say, "Keep the envelope, so you can put next week's winning in it." More often than not, that's precisely what I did. It's just difficult to believe that Del won't be coming around the corner to collect his winnings.
Del was one of the few people I've met in life who seemed to be liked by all. Friendly, out-going, smiling most of the time. Of course, he wasn't a saint. Del loved his beer and cigarettes. He loved to have a good time. The Mixed Nut Bowling League on Wednesday nights won't be the same this spring, and next season's Goldsmith Organized Lazyperson's Football (G.O.L.F.) League won't be the same with the league champion not being there to defend his title.
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