Goodbye Diane

My friend Diane Bedford died last week. I've known her since the early 2000s and for the last two years, was lucky enough to work with her at The Glengarry News. She was the proofreader at the paper.

I typed the classified ads and was always discouraged at all the typos I made. In order to egg me on, she bought a package of sparklers and put them in her desk drawer. She told me that when I finally got the ads typed perfectly, she'd give me a sparkler.

To my delight, it finally happened last summer. Diane came downstairs and said in a hushed tone, "I have to see you out back." I followed her to the parking lot and she turned around and said, "It's sparkler day!" I couldn't have been more delighted. I was only ever lucky enough to have that happen twice. I was more than lucky enough to consider Diane a friend. She will be missed.