So Long Mr. Hudson

     Bob Hudson and I hit it off when we met fifty years ago; maybe it was the edgy humor thing that we both enjoyed.  The two of us were heading to the University of Florida and he wanted me to join his fraternity. While I did not (I thought the ATO's had better parties), our friendship endured until his death last Monday.

     During a 1970 law school break we headed to London. Bob met his future wife, Edith, while we were choosing food in a university cafeteria. I'd often tell him that "I would have married her" had I been ahead of him in line.  
  It was a joke of course, the two of them were meant for each other.  They married in Coconut Grove's Plymouth Church.  Afterwards  we had a funky reception in one of the long-gone picnic shelters in Peacock Park.                               (above, Bob and Edith sailing out of Dinner Key Marina, 1978)


      We headed in very different directions as Bob became an expert in international tax law.  His downtown office -with the big bay view- gave me vertigo.  
   From my 1970's law office, above the Grove's Bird Bath Laundry, I could see tired people carrying dirty clothes. 
    Bob and Edith had a great life together.  They raised two fine sons (Patrick and Daniel) and a played leading roles in local charitable organizations. Bob headed the Concert Association of Florida for many years. He wasn't much of an artist but was a huge supporter of the arts.
   The Hudsons loved to entertain in their spacious, South Grove home on Biscayne Bay. Wine was always a big deal. At formal dinners they'd serve a different one with each course. I'd be tanked after two.
   Were you at our backyard wedding reception when Francesca and I got married?  Bob and Edith tended the bar. Much of the wine came from their well-stocked cellar.
    When we invited the Hudsons to a Christmas gathering three weeks ago Bob replied with a short note, "I'm sorry we can't make it.  We'll be spending the holidays in Europe".
    He spent his last days there too. He had a heart attack while strolling in Paris with his wife.  Not a bad way to go, in the City of Love with the woman he adored. All around him was the art and culture that filled his glass and dazzled his life. 
    I'm gonna miss you, Bob. You were a great husband, father, and friend.
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