Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Mr. Gregory is known to me as my best friend's Dad. His daughter, Ellen, was my roommate Freshman year at the University of Southern Maine, and remains a lifelong friend. Early on, I was invited to spend time with the Gregory family during school breaks. I was treated to a tour of NYC and I especially remember climbing the stairs of the Statue of Liberty and standing in the dome of her crown where Mr. Gregory helped me overcome my fear of heights. Mr. Gregory and his family brought me to a well known ice cream parlor, where noone else ordered anything, saying they weren't hungry. Then came a silver punch bowl full of fifteen scooped flavors, treating me to the famous "Kitchen Sink"! Generosity was in full supply in the Gregory household. And distance did not deter him from sharing it with me. My next fondest memory is one time when I was totally stranded at a New Jersey turnpike toll booth, after having missed my connection with some friends to get a ride back to Maine. The turnpike attendant allowed me to make a phone call to get help, so I called the dad nearest me, (mine lived in Maine), Mr. Gregory! For the few minutes I waited, I watched a wild rabbit running about in a grassy knoll just beside the roadway. Shortly therafter I see Mr. Gregory approaching me from the southern side going north, beaming smile on his face as though nothing was out of the ordinary. Years later he laughed when he told me that they had to stop nine lanes of traffic to allow him to make the u-turn to rescue me! That's not the only time I "borrowed" my best friend's Dad. My own father passed away in 2007. He had been a champion of faith to me and buoyed my courage through the young years upbringing my family of six children. Having shared his and Mrs. Gregory's faith experiences during our visits together, Mr. Gregory, after my father died, became my "go-to" person to discuss matters of faith, growth of consciousness, growth of relationships and even the more lofty scientific subject of quantum physics, which I was aware he loved to discuss with Ellen and Mac. During a more recent gathering of his family, Ellen had recorded Mr. Gregory playfully singing, "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree With Anyone Else But Me". She sent that to me. I am blessed to have sat under his Wisdom tree and will always treasure having had that special opportunity. May all rich blessings fallen from his tree of Life continue to nurish those whom were likewise priveledged to sit there.
