Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home

NORM by Priscilla Wallace Norm was more like family to me than a friend or a colleague. Maybe that’s because he seemed to share a close, somewhat brotherly connection with my spiritual father, Gene. Maybe it’s because he was one of the few people who “saw” me. But then, I think he saw anyone he chose to see. You couldn’t hide from Norm, but somehow that was ok. I knew that with Norm I was safe, even when I was exposed. He instinctively knew my boundaries and never over-stepped them. But even more than “seeing” me, he believed in me. And there’s no greater gift that he could have given. He cared. He cared deeply and genuinely. And he let you know that he was there for you – no strings attached. A rarity in this world. Just as he saw and intensely cared for those fortunate enough to be in his life’s circle, he saw life, energy and the order, and disorder, of it all. He focused his love, time and his brilliant mind on what mattered. He seemed oblivious to the frivolous. I don’t remember ever having to agonize over small talk with Norm. Our conversations were deep and expansive at the same time. I think that’s one of the things I shall miss most. Like my Papa Gene before him, he challenged my thinking but never, ever in a critical or competitive way. The exchange of ideas almost always brought on the exhilaration of discovery, as if we were sitting in a sand box saying, “Look what I found.” In fact, I feel that rush now as I write this. So I’m comforted to know that he’s not really gone…just shifted from this plane. And rather than focusing on mourning the loss of his being here, I feel the challenge to continue the exchange of thought with him in a new way. It’s often said, but rarely so true: Norm did leave this world a better place. His seeds have been planted and his work will continue. I’m also comforted to know that if Norman is embracing and not trying to change where he is, we all have something to look forward to.