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One day years ago, a man whom I initially met in my real estate office as a new sales client, grew to be a very dear friend – no, beyond that – he, his wife and their children came to be our family members. He was funny and kind and thoughtful beyond measure and his precious spunky wife was right there with him … thoughtful in countless ways.

In a short amount of time my sweet Billy grew to love them both as much as I did. They were smart, very smart and top-notch accomplished professionals, devoted parents to two awesome kids…a son and a daughter and the love between the four of them was tight…they had a wonderful relationship, open to discuss matters of the world and able to laugh with and at each other in their loving playful ways…a beautiful family. He had been a world traveler through his work and he had incredible connections with well…never mind, trust me when I say…big, big wigs but it made no difference because they never treated anyone any different – they were r-e-a-l genuine people who loved you for what and who you were inside and an absolute blessing in my life.

She? A pistol … a fireball … an Energizer Bunny … always fun to spend time with and who showed the “best of the best” hospitality to friends and guests – she never stopped! Entertaining folks, preparing nice meals and treats and while her stature was not as tall as me at only 5’6”, I always looked up to her. She was a bundle of energy and never let anything slow her down. Each of them would go out of their way to make you feel welcome, introducing us to their family and closest friends with no hesitation they drew us into their fold. Not only me, but my A+ husband, Billy, came to love them as much as I did, and he looked forward to spending time with them at our home or theirs. As their broker, they did purchase property on the OBX and our business relationship that ensued was always honest, straightforward and solid through the years; our friendship never off kilter; even months on end between the time we see each other again … no matter, it is just like it was yesterday.

When Billy passed and went to Heaven in 2016, we wanted our friend to serve as honorary pall bearer and I say “honorary” pall bearer because there was no casket to carry. Billy had told me prior to even being sick that he wanted to be cremated and with so many guys who loved Billy and vice-versa, there were 25 men who wore boots on their lapel in his honor, but our friend was unable to even attend Billy’s celebration of life service due to just having had surgery at the time. But their thoughts and prayers and calls to check on me and our family helped to mend my broken heart.

I have had close relationships with many of my clients over the last 42 years in real estate and I thank the good Lord for each and every one. We visited our clients’ homes in Virginia, New Jersey and while we had been invited to Massachusetts, where Mama was born, we were never able to get there before Billy passed. Each of these couples touched our hearts and our lives deeply in one way or another and as their Realtor and friend, I grew as a person for which I am so grateful.

This wonderful couple I speak of allowed us an opportunity to see memorable things we would never forget. After having met his aging parents and immediately falling for both of them, he developed a special fondness for my homemade chocolate multi-layered cake that offered a special flare, and I was introduced to a very tasty beverage that included fresh lime and coconut – YUM, YUM!

Much to my surprise, this adorable couple shocked me all to pieces while we were visiting them, not here at their beautiful home, but at their lovely permanent home out of state. The last night of our stay when they asked if we would like to eat at a Vietnamese restaurant, I just knew Billy would immediately shake his head no or just suggest an alternative cuisine. Him being a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran, I was floored when he said “Yeah, that sounds good!” WOW! It is not because I thought the food would not be good, it was because I thought as much as he distanced himself from memories of his service in Vietnam, he would avoid it at all costs. Wrong! But I was happy I had misthought – I love Asian food and not living in an area that offered Vietnamese fare, I looked forward to it, however, when they called the restaurant to verify hours, etc. – it was closed! Regardless, it was nice to know he would have been okay to go … that my Billy would have been okay to go! The long and short of it was that as horrible as the Vietnam War was, he had come to know kind and appreciative south Vietnamese who were grateful for the sacrifices of the American servicemembers who were there to defend them.

That simple circumstance brought the conclusion to me that we do not always know what we think we know.

Our friends, the ones we had come to know and love so much, opened my eyes in several ways and made impressions on me they probably never realize. Another being a time when I told them how much I had enjoyed collaborating with them on the acquisition of their property and home construction. I told them how much it had meant to me that having worked in the professions they were in, they were not snobby and how much their attitude, demeanor and overall sincerity had touched me. It wasn’t because they were the only clients I had grown so close to … it wasn’t because they came from out of high places either, I had been a committed Realtor (at that point in time) for almost 30 years and had met, engaged and represented many wonderful clients. It was a comment he made that struck me knowing the contacts they had overall, and the expectation of the highest anticipated performance expected in their world.

He said, “Marsha, what matters is results.” Then he shared very nice compliments about our working relationship and how I had demonstrated that I was driven to get things done on their behalf and while his exact following remarks escape me at the moment … what it came down to was the RESULT of our working relationship and my desire to accomplish something that mattered to them as my client.

Basically, his words were golden to me. He made me feel even more confidence in my field of expertise and it was the culmination of realizing that my devotion to my clients was noticed. When there is so much foo-foo in this world, it does matter exponentially … the end result, I mean.

I love these people of which I speak. Early on in our relationship they had come to know our daughter and had developed a strong bond with her as well. Our friend’s father had a love of making tiny metal Nativity figurines of which I was gifted and that I cherish. Our friend is now in a profession that benefits our veterans greatly and that makes me smile a lot, but then again, our special friends always make me smile and I love them very much.

In this incredible time in our lives, in our nation, in our world, in politics … RESULTS do matter. Good, bad, or indifferent – very often what we reap is what we sow. In anticipation of November 5, I pray that we research, listen, observe, hear and learn first-hand from live interviews of the candidates and that we prayerfully and carefully make a decision that we will not regret. Our future and the future of our children, grandchildren and beyond will be affected one way or the other as well as the safety, security and finances of our nation.

Until next time, be healthy, safe and happy. Embrace the blessings of good people in your life, thank God for your loved ones; take the time to see what and who you can offer help to whenever you can … hold their hand if they need a friend … doing that will bless you (us) even more than it blesses them. For help with filing a V.A. claim or if you have other questions relating to your military service, or health challenges you may now face, please contact Dare County veteran service officer Patty O’Sullivan at her office: 252-475-5604; cell/text 252-473-7749 or email: patricia.o’sullivan@darenc.gov.

Lastly, if you would like to contact me, cell/text: 252-202-2058 or email: giglineheroes@aol.com. Thank you for taking the time to read Gig Line; you are a blessing to me every day and just know this, I love you all … regardless of what we agree on in life or what we don’t. God bless. Stay tuned!

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