Remembering Terri

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.