The Original Goodbye Girl

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Yes, it is August, and yes, it is a hard month for me. This month also brings me back to many memories and also revelations. I was in Riga, Latvia, when I lost my husband, Martin, suddenly in August 2017. After I was in touch with my best friend since the 6th grade, Leslie, and she told me to return to the US, where she was living in Florida. At this time, not knowing what I really wanted to do, I grabbed my cat Sid and headed to Florida. There I found a different girl than the one I had once known. It was also a revelation to discover how two women could really have tight bonds and understanding between them and be like sisters. While I was living my life in Latvia, Leslie had returned to the greatest love of her life, David Cassidy. It was a secret she had to keep to herself since they met as teenagers through the friendship of their fathers. Of course her family did not want her following him to California, and we all know what a meteoric rise he took to fame and became a teen idol. However, he did keep an eye on where she was and what was happening to her. Meeting up in Florida, it was in 2018 after her fourteen-year affair with David and her psychological and mental decline after his death. Imagine how this drew us even closer since our loves died in the same year, David in November 2017. Believe it or not, Martin was 66 when he passed and David was 67. Leslie and I had our close moments, but things were not the same as she deteriorated. I guess she just withdrew into herself but at least had the help of her husband and three grown sons. Then two years after I arrived, there was another goodbye as Leslie died right on the day that my name, Rasma, appears in the Latvian calendar, June 20, my names day. There I was left alone, stranded in Florida, and bumbling along life’s road for some purpose. I believe they are watching over me, and I suppose perhaps my writing and poetry is a purpose for me to go on. The photo is of Leslie and my mom dancing, probably to a Cassidy tune. That brought me to remember this song while I am still here: “Let Me Entertain You. "That is Julie Andrews doing the tune.