Tribute To My BFF

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I met Gini Sampson when I was in junior high and chumming with her younger sister. Betty brought me up to the big barn of a house she lived in with her family. Along with 4 brothers, she has a younger sister, Lilly, and an older sister, Gini, who was to become my BFF. Gini had already been married once and had come back home to regroup. She showed me her manuscripts and she was the one that sent me on a life of loving writing. I was so impressed that she had finished several books. They were never to be published however sad to say. She was really into science fiction and she turned me on to Edgar Rice Burroughs, Andre Norton, and many others. She introduced me to characters like Tarzan, John Carter, Doc Savage, Conan, and many, many more. Later in life, she would invite me over for beans, cornbread, and Canasta. She would play Elvis Presley records which she had a large stack of. She loved Elvis. She had a daughter, Shawna, and a son, Shann who later died of some cancer. She mourned his death until the day she died. Gini was a dear, wonderful woman. She was intelligent, funny, kind, thoughtful, and quite religious. Her favorite saying from the Bible was Genesis 31:49 also called Mizpah "May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other." Although I am an atheist we used that saying back and forth many times. She moved to Oklahoma to be closer to her family as they had all moved down there and so we wrote a lot of letters. I also flew down there several summers to spend time with her. Her family always treated me like one of theirs and I was Aunt Eve to her children and the others in the family. Her mom was hilarious. She had a deep southern accent and she would sit and carry on with us girls. I always felt like one of them and I sure miss that feeling. She came to stay with me back in the mid-80s for about three months. We went out dancing, went to the dog races, or shopping and enjoyed each other's company. She enjoyed country and western music and she had the radio on the country station 24/7. She won their trivia contest at least once every week and we enjoyed free tickets to the horse races or a free lunch for two out somewhere fun and new. More recently she had some medical issues and was in a facility getting some physical therapy. On December 19, 2022, I got my last message on Facebook from her saying she was to meet with her doctor that afternoon and get her okay to come home. The next message was a few hours later from her daughter saying she had had a massive heart attack and died. I can't remember ever feeling so stunned. My kids came into my room wondering what was going on. I cried and they held me. I felt so lost. My entire body ached for days. I know I will never know another person like her. She was a rare breed. A woman among women you might say. She is missed.