Thursday, August 11, 2016
Beth and Nate,
I am SO sorry for you guys and the loss of your Dad. As you know, Dave and I go back to his earliest days at GE. He and I became fast friends right away, and I consider him to be my closest friend of all those I knew over the years there. I just want to relate a couple of small stories that I love to recall now and I think you might like. One concerns a vehicle purchase, of course. You're too young to remember probably, but Dave and family were my main supplier of vehicles for a while, including a boat from your grandfather, a red Subaru wagon, and firstly a blue Chevy Nova (rebadged Corolla), the subject of this story. He advertised this old Nova in the R&D paper for $500. When I saw the ad, I ran right down to his office and told him I'd take it, knowing that he bought it new and that he always maintained his cars VERY well. I couldn't talk down a friend and so I told him I'd happily pay him his asking price. He told me that he'd been willing to dicker down to $350 and so would be happy to take that. I said, No, that wouldn't be fair. And back and forth we went, until we finally agreed on the midpoint price of $425. And that car lasted me a long time.
Another more recent story is hard for me to tell know without my starting to cry. Not long after I retired 10 years ago, Dave and Dennis and I were scheduled for yet another Friday noontime lunch at Slick's, but on the night before, I got the results of a blood test back and was told to go immediately to Albany Med and expect to stay there awhile. The next morning my wife called them both to tell them where I was and that I'd have to postpone lunch for a week. Your Dad immediately came over. It meant SO much to me that he would just drop everything and come over. But he was always the first one to help. And from that day, I'd always hoped that someday I could some how repay his thoughtfulness in kind. And, of course, now I never can.
I loved your Dad, and I can tell you that we never had a lunch date where he didn't get you guys into the conversation and his pride in what you've accomplished and the way you turned out was always apparent. He will always be most alive through each of you.
I'm really going to miss him.
Ron Capello
