My dear friend, Jeannette Paladino of   www.writespeaksell.com lost her wonderful husband Charles this week. He was truly a Renaissance man. As I would say to Jan, every time I spoke with Charles he was so charming and wonderful, he truly made you feel like the only person in the world. Truly cultured, a voracious reader and one of the kindest people- and the ultimate New Yorker–he truly will be missed.

Jeannette and Charles were a perfect couple–please read below what she just posted on her blog about her dear partner for life.

 

What I Learned From My Husband About Having a Passion for Life

October 8, 2009

This is going to be a very personal blog to celebrate my husband Charles.  My beloved passed away a week ago, but his lasting legacy will be his passion for life, especially for family, books and music.

What I admired most about him was his zest for learning.  Once he became interested in a topic, he would become passionate about learning everything he could about it:  printing, typography, arctic exploration, and military history were just a few of his interests.  His passion extended to the interests of friends, too.  Once he learned what you were passionate about, he would pepper you with letters, articles, and books on the topic.  His friends would say, “please don’t go out of your way for me.”

But the truth was, they were doing him a favor because he loved the “hunt.”  He once told me he could literally feel his fingers tingle when he entered an antiquarian bookstore and he approached the stacks.   He knew most of the books by their spines.

I learned from Charles how important it is to be passionate about life, your friends, the arts and your life’s work.  Passion is what makes life so endlessly interesting and what makes us interesting to others.   Thank you, Charles, for teaching me this great lesson of life.