How could he miss her, the dark-haired Irish girl with skin like a rose petal? She was drawn to his sparkling hazel eyes and salt and pepper hair.
You cannot be in the same building and not feel their energy, especially when she is running a cash register right down the aisle from the meat department.
JIM De HAY arrived at the Oak Harbor Albertsons store about eight years ago to head the meat department. The object of his affection, NANCY, had worked there as a checker since the day the store opened. She previously worked at Albertsons in Mukilteo.
The girl from Minnesota had married a Navy man and raised three children, a son, 31, and two daughters, 26 and 27. Jim grew up in the high desert of California, married and had two boys, 31 and 30, and a daughter 27.
Their children were grown and had lives of their own when their parents met. Still it was hoped they would accept their new friends. Nancy’s youngest daughter laughed when she first met Jim. “You’ve got that Al Pacino look going on,” she said, her way of telling him she approved.
The only children at home these days are Casey, their shepherd/golden lab mix, and Jack, a Jack Russell mix. Both were adopted from WAIF.
“Jack’s an adorable know-it-all who takes food from Casey’s mouth and the dog lets him,” Nancy said, a bit apologetic about Jack’s Terrible Two behavior.
As they walked miles of beaches, they learned they shared many of the same goals. A trip to Leavenworth brought them to the same conclusion: they wanted to spend all their time together and they would get married.
Jim makes up the schedule for the meat department and he tries to take the same days off as Nancy. Because they start their work day so early, they have a good part of the afternoon together at home in Coupeville, where Nancy grows flowers and cooks and Jim is master of the grill.
Joking with Jim, I told him readers want to know if he saves the best meat to take home. “Oh, no,” he said. “It’s against store policy.”
“If I pick out meat, Jim tells me what to get,” Nancy said.
“He’s so big-hearted,” she continued. “He opens the car door for me, brings me coffee and even picks up after himself — and me!”
“We think a lot alike,” said Jim, a lucky guy who just showed up to work one day and look what happened.
Pour on the compassion
Children can grow or they can bloom. On Friday, March 11, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama led a discussion at the University of Washington on the scientific findings regarding compassion and early childhood development. Later that day, he spoke to a large group at the Key Arena to suggest what we can do in our lives to put that knowledge to good use.
“It was eye opening to see how the brain utilizes the parents’ compassion to form healthy neurological connections that affect the growth of the entire physical body,” said JACK TINGSTAD of Coupeville, calling three venues in two days with the Dalai Lama an extremely uplifting experience.
“The Dalai Lama emphasized the need to first be compassionate with ourselves and then we can spread the good feelings by our actions toward others,” he continued. “The parade of cultures at Qwest Field on Saturday was a brilliantly-colorful event with hundreds of representatives from local communities displaying ethnic costumes and traditions.”
Tingstad said he will not soon forget the two days of inspiration and information.
Join and serve others
Unless a service organization can bring in new people, it cannot sustain itself. The Disabled American Veterans, Whidbey Island Chapter 47, is reaching out to people who receive VA compensation of 10 or 20 percent to come aboard and become one of them.
They will meet at 7 p.m. tomorrow night in building 13 on the Seaplane Base to hold their second round of nominations for Commander, Senior Vice President, 1st Junior Vice, Adjutant and Treasurer. Currently in those offices are JIM JOHNSON, BILL PETTY, DAN NILES, DOROTHY MICHEL and DAVID MICHEL, respectively.
Following the general business meeting, they will discuss van transportation and the mobile trailer in Mount Vernon at Skagit Valley Hospital. “There is no word yet on the location of the community-based outpatient clinic, but that will probably come next year,” said David Michel.
Their office phone is 257-4801.
