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| Terri Pinnock 1/26/1982- 3/26/2015 |
This piece was originally written for and published in the May 2015 issue of The Georgetown Gazette.
When I met Terri she was sitting on a bar stool at Calamity
Jane’s talking smack to someone in a Yankee’s cap. It was my first visit there after
renting a studio upstairs at The Forsyth. Not being a baseball person, I was
stuck when she turned to me and asked sharply over her beer: “Sox or Yankees?”
Having witnessed the previous display of hostility, I cautiously
answered, “Sox...?”
And Terri giggled that little giggle that is the signature
of the best of everything she was.
We were improbable best friends
with a 20 year age difference and social circles that did not intersect. Still,
we bonded over being former east coasters, boarding school misfits, food lovers,
and best of all, we made each other laugh. That devilish giggle and crinkled-nose-dimpled-smile
was always the best reward for my acerbic wit.
It’s well documented that I have credited Terri with helping
keep me alive and hopeful during the endless months I was hiding out in
Georgetown while being treated for, and recovering from, breast cancer. She was
the first – and only for a long time- person I told I was on the lamb, terrified
of being branded with the pink ribbon. Terri’s unconditional love and sweet
smile were anchors for me.
When Terri and I started hosting BINGO on Monday nights at
CJs it was really to entertain ourselves. There was no script or agenda. We
would meet at Jules Maes Saloon for lunch and drinks to plan the games and
prizes for the evening. The rest of Bingo night was simply just Terri and I
having cocktails, teasing each other over a microphone while the room, filled
with our GT neighbors, eavesdropped. It was certainly NOT politically correct
banter, and we poked fun at each other mercilessly as only true friends can. I doubt
there’s an attendee who can’t recall Terri’s favorite BINGO number and her glee
in announcing it: Ooooo…69.
Terri made us laugh. She made us laugh with her, at her, and
best of all, at ourselves. Her corny, almost always in bad taste, jokes are
Georgetown legend. My favorites were the ones where she would somehow bait me
into saying a punchline with a perceived racist remark so she could squint at
me and say “What did you call me?!” I
fell for it every time.
Terri had a generosity of spirit that surmounted anything
else in her make up. She worked hard at things she cared about and defended the
people in her life – and all things Boston – with a vengeance. She loved Georgetown.
She loved her family, her girlfriend, her friends, her pets and I’m proud to
say Terri loved me. She called on my birthday, just days before we would lose
her, and she teased me and giggled and talked about the future and plans. As we
said good bye, Terri signed off with an inside phrase we often used: Love you long time.
Yes, Terri Pinnock, Georgetown
will love you long time. And longer.
