Dear Adrienne

Dear Adrienne,

I am so very sorry to hear that Ernest passed.
I know that Ernest was the love of your life and that he had a love for you that was always palpable in his comments to everyone about you. And there wasn’t a single time that we talked that what you and he did or were going to do didn’t come up.
You may or may not know I moved to Evansville from Atlantic City when I was 10 yrs old and Ernest and I became friends practically right away.
We became altar boys at St.John’s and were Father Mootz errand boys, even sippin the grapes in the church and the booze in the parrish house.
He may have told you how we would borrow Father car (unknown to him) and drive to Owensboro to see his grandmother. So many memories. Like he would help me with my chores so I could get done quicker. And he’d tell my mother that she was Simonize crazy since she had us use it on every thing. We would cop beer from Willy’s market and stash it in our garage for my Gran’Pop. Oh! the old memories.
Where one of us was the other was there or coming.
Life has it’s twist and turns and in the last 30 or so years tragedy had befallen us all. But I don’t feel Ernest felt like he was short changed in any way. He lived a full life and he was like the energizer bunny in the end he kept going and going and going until his batteries ran out.
Ernest was my friend and I am going to miss him since he is a part of my life that can never be revisited again.
I hope you will cherish your memories and know that I share your loss.
Stay strong.

Love Earle



June 7, 2006