Dear Source:
I was more than a bit saddened to hear of the passing of Frank Jordan, dear colleague, friend and mentor. All my memories of him are good ones, and I feel privileged to have known him. The last time I saw him, he was resplendent in a paper tux bib on a yacht motoring up the Potomac at sunset. The occasion was his 70th birthday celebration, and as anyone would expect, the food was superb, the spirits bottomless and the conversations delightful. I met people who knew Frank from early times: the Army, OSS, the fledgling CIA, as well as more recent friends. The party continued deep into night.
We had a few phone calls since then, but I had left the Virgin Islands for good. For almost a decade, we had seen and talked with each other almost daily at the University of the Virgin Islands. Now the silence is endless.
DOLORS (Seven Sorrows for Frank Jordan)
1. A friend and mentor died today.
2. He will still be dead tomorrow.
3. And also years later.
4. Memory is a pale substitute.
5. Love echoes.
6. But absence is pain.
7. Always.
Joseph Lisowski, Elizabeth City, N.C.