I’ve always said the AV is like a spider web .. everyone can find a connection somewhere and that was never more apparent than today. I got to attend a funeral for an incredible man. A long time AV resident, old school family business owner , family man and friend. I felt like I knew him much better than I actually did just by being a part of the huge celebration. So big it had to be held at our local fairgrounds. From a big catholic family like mine. The exact same kind of cloth my people are cut from. He’s the kind of person that the collective “we” holds up as the best kind of human. Honest genuine decent fun hardworking dependable . Seeing all the familiar faces in the building made me proud to be an AV native. These people I was in the company of today are the AV I grew up in. Solid and good. Mark embodied all the things I love about my hometown. One of those people that’s just GOOD. As a teenager my dad got some work done on my mustang from this business. I remembered the gravely voice of the guy behind the counter, he made a huge impression. Tucked back in my files was that voice. Once upon time, after a brutal divorce, my first job was as a delivery person and server at a restaurant near his business that he liked to order lunch from. I remembered the place because of my mustang . Of all the customers I encountered he was the kindest to my tired stressed out, single mom self. Crusty and sweet at the same time. Flash forward 11 years and my daughter works for his daughter and I got to see again the goodness of his life. A week before he changed addresses I got to see he and his adored wife at a local watering hole and to my extreme joy he remembered me. His ginger bitch as he said . This occasion makes me super proud to be from where I’m from and I was privileged to be in attendance today , to know his family and to count his amazing daughter as a friend. Hearing someone say you could see one of his family around town and know they were an Adams. This same thing was said at my uncle Tim’s service and hearing those words again today, hearing some of those songs made me feel like I was at home. How lucky we are to be a part of this tribe of hardworking honest kind people. Godspeed Mark Adams. Find my uncle and have a beer for me… heaven ain’t ready for ya.
