Tag Archives: Larry Hymes

A Facebook Experience

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Larry Hymes and Ben Stiller–Larry’s Facebook photo

I wrote a blog post months ago about a guy who I always see around New York City but never say hello to because he claims he doesn’t know me. His name is Larry Hymes and he lives in Los Angeles but travels to Manhattan frequently. He used to live near Queens College and I lived in Hilltop Village in Hollis, Queens, maybe five miles apart. I knew him for almost two years, 16 to 18 years old. He was at my Sweet 16 Party the night John F. Kennedy was killed. We were friends (no sweetheart crush) and saw each other once a week and spoke on the telephone to each other practically every night.

Larry was very good looking, the perfect example of tall, dark and handsome. He wasn’t a scholar and neither was I. We were a perfect friend match. Larry dated a few of my girlfriends, but no long term relationships. I don’t remember what happened but we lost touch.

About seven years ago, just after my mother died, I couldn’t sleep and I started searching the Internet for lost friends. This was way before Facebook and LinkedIn. Larry was one of many I was searching out. Somehow, someway, I found him on the Internet because he had a career in men’s clothing and there were a lot of pictures of him.

I researched his email and sent him a message. “Larry, surprise. This is Lois. Wow, I can’t believe I found you. Long time. How are you?” That was all I said. A few days later, I get an email back. “You sound familiar. Tell me something about you.”

I was shocked. “Tell you something about me? Are you crazy?” are the words I told myself. I know a lot of years have passed but how can you be friendly with someone for two years, go to the gal’s Sweet 16, and not remember her? He spent more time talking to me than most other people in his life.

Since we reconnected, every once in a while we send Facebook messages to each other but nothing serious. A” Happy Birthday” and a “Like” for a comment. Larry is a Facebook friend now but he still doesn’t remember me from way back when. The really weird thing is how I keep seeing him all over the city. The first time I spotted him was on 58th and Sixth. He was walking west. I was in a taxi and I was flabbergasted. I passed him right by. This happens two or three times a year for the last seven years. One time Eliot was driving our car right near our office and he quickly turned the corner (something Eliot is infamous for) and almost knocked a guy over. When I looked out the passenger window to see if the guy was all right, it was Larry. I just slid down in the seat.

About three years ago, Larry started showing up in the same restaurants I frequented. At first I would duck and then I realized he said he didn’t know me so I stopped doing that. A few months ago, I had his name on Four Square, a location-based app that tells you where people are located at a particular time. When I “checked in” with Four Square I saw he was at the same restaurant as me. I looked around the room and spotted Larry. I went over to the table on purpose to ask him and his friend if they knew the time. They answered politely. I stood there long enough to see if Larry recognized me. Nothing.

When I told Eliot and my girlfriend Ruth about the encounter, I got accused of exaggerating. I am not stalking Larry, but it’s very funny that I bump in to him more than most people I know.

Last night, Eliot and I went to a Broadway Show, Chaplin. We were waiting for the show to start and I once again saw Larry. I said to Eliot, “There’s Larry.” Eliot said that was not him. Eliot said it didn’t look at all like the pictures I showed him. “Eliot, that is him,” I insisted. Eliot quipped, “Sorry, different nose.” I kept insisting that it was him but then the show started.

At intermission, Eliot and I stayed in our seats but Larry walked by. I didn’t yell out his name but after the show Eliot and I looked for him. He must have rushed out. Once again, Eliot said it wasn’t him. So late last night I sent Larry a Facebook message:

Lois: Are you in NY right now ? Thought I saw you
Like • • 15 hours ago •

Larry Hymes: Yes, where did you see me? Why didn’t you say hello? I am going back to L.A. Today.
8 hours ago via mobile • Like
o
Lois: At Chaplin, the broadway show. Were you there?
7 hours ago via mobile • Like
o
Larry Hymes Yes I was.
3 hours ago via mobile • Like

The saga continues.

The Past Is The Future

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Recently I found myself wondering whatever happpened to a certain from a friend who grew up in the same building as I did in Hollis, Queens? In the digital age you don’t have to wonder anymore. It wasn’t Facebook, but somehow, some way, Ellen Gershoff Jaffee got in touch with me. She is now one of my regular readers and often makes comments. 

Not only have I met the beautiful Ellen, I have also reunited with her brother and mother after 40 years. My mother died seven years ago this June,so when Ellen’s mother attended one of my parties in Miami a few years ago it was like being with my own mother again. We talked about people in the neighborhood that only my mother’s generation would have been interested in. 

Nadia, Mel and Lois

Then there is Mel Matza, my first boyfriend when I was 13. I didn’t see him in the decades after he moved to Bologna, Italy to attend medical school. He ended up staying there and getting married. Through email and Skype we were able to reconnect. Now, even though we see each other only occasionally, we are able to stay current online. I never would have thought we would have been so close at this point in our lives. 

Maurice de Hond

Two former clients whom I adore, one in Jerusalem and the other in Amsterdam, still keep in touch frequently. Harry Fox now lives in Israel and is a part of the tech industry. He was an innovator 25 years ago when we worked together and he’s still inventing today. I met with him when we were in Israel. He and his wife hosted a BBQ for Eliot and me plus three other friends. I also see Harry at trade shows, and occasionally we will work together on an assignment. The client from Amsterdam, Maurice de Hond, was our supervisor on a computer project. I have been in constant contact with Maurice as well and have participated in several assignments including a murder mystery, book and film projects, and how tablets and other devices are helping young children to create their own virtual school. 

Larry Hymes

Then there is Facebook. I searched for a fellow named Larry Hymes who I was friendly with when I was 17 years old. He lived a few miles away from me but we saw each other often and he dated a number of my friends. I think we talked on the telephone every night for two years. He now lives in Los Angeles and is in the menswear business. At first he didn’t answer me and then finally sent back a message after a few weeks. This is what it said: “Tell me more about yourself. You sound familiar but I can’t place you.” I was floored. I was thinking about him for years and he was clueless as to who I was. He spent two years of his life talking to me every school night and on weekends. We went to dances, movies, bowling and Diner hopping all over Queens, and this guy couldn’t remember me. It wasn’t a case of my being offended or that he could have been faking it, because he kept writing back. He talks to me on Facebook from time to time but can’t remember any details of our relationship. He blames it on drugs. I blame it on some other disconnect in his brain. 

Adrian “Ace” Rice, rocker

There are a number of other stories I can tell you about, but the one that is the most recent and the reason why digital communication is such a wonderful tool, came via a phone call from a stunning guy I met at the CES show many moons ago. Adrian Rice (nickname Ace) lives in southern California, works for Steelcase, and is a rocker. He is a little younger than me, married ,and yes we found each other on Facebook a few years ago. His smile can light up a room and I am not even sure why he even wanted to maintain a relationship other than he must be a very friendly guy. If you look him up on Facebook, you will see him rocking away at many venues with shis band. I picked up the phone when it rang and Adrian said, “I have been reading DigiDame, and making comments, so I just decided instead of typing something something else, I would call.” It was so lovely. We spent about 20 minutes going down memory lane, then made a date to meet up for breakfast or coffee when Eliot and I will be in LA next month. I haven’t seen him in years. How do I quickly transform myself from a good old broad to the perky young gal he met at the Curtis booth decades ago? Ouch, the years do accumulate quickly.