One of the consequences of aging...
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...you keep losing lifelong friends.
We got word a few days ago from the daughter of one of our good friends that he passed away. Wasi and I commuted on the same train every day starting back in the 1980s when Mr wtg and I moved here. We got to know each other because I used to kibitz the bridge game on the train. We would walk several blocks heading home; my car was parked not too far from Peg's and his house. The two couples went out for dinner a few times and the four of us hit it off very well and we became close friends.
They decided to sell their house in 2014 and move to Madison, WI to be close to their daughter. I actually found the house they ended up buying by looking at listings online! We kept in touch and managed to visit them a few times. When Peggy some five years ago, Monya and Wasi put together a a "book" about Peggy. It was a PDF that chronicled her life in text and photos.
Wasi sold their home and moved to a condo after Peggy died. We talked on the phone but between COVID and Mr wtg's health problems in recent years, we never got to see him again.
Their daughter Monya sent us a card a few days ago announcing his October 2025 passing and inviting us to a celebration of life later this summer. Monya put together a Google Earth slideshow, a link to which was on the card that she sent. It uses maps and Wasi's own photos and remembrances as the basis for walking you through Wasi's life. He was born in Assam to a Muslim family, was orphaned at a young age, moved to East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) as a child after the Partition, went to school in British Columbia, and Madison, WI...and on and on. I knew he was born in Bangladesh but had never heard the details of his life story.
I don't know if anyone is interested, but I thought I'd share the link to the slideshow. @big_al , you might be interested in the wanderings of a fellow engineer. He had a PhD in mechanical engineering, was a PE, and worked mostly on nuclear reactors when he was at Sargent and Lundy.
I had a bit of trouble navigating the slideshow on my iPad; it was much better on my laptop. After Google Earth loads, just click on Wasi's Story and start the slideshow.
Wasi loved his martini:
Here they are sitting on the patio in their backyard.
Goodbye to our friends Wasi and Peg. You will live on in our memories.
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