The first time I laid eyes on Myron was on the back dock of TGI Friday's, on a cold afternoon in Boardman, Ohio. We were having a quick shift meeting and it was my first dinner shift since starting there a week or so before. As everyone filed inside to begin their shift, Myron and I were left face to face to an inevitable introduction. He cocked his head sideways, and with a big smile said, "And WHO ARE YOU?", with all the enthusiasm of a kid on his first day of school. It was love at first sight. He took me under his wing and helped me through my first hectic dinner shift. He continually checked on me to make sure I had what I needed and that I didn't fall behind on my duties. He showed me the ropes and made me feel welcome.
During the following year it became apparent that we were destined to be the best of friends, along with so many others who worked there at the time, many of which I am still close with or have at least been in contact with over the years. The atmosphere at Friday's back then was one of "family" and of cohesion. I have not since worked at a job where I made so many friends or enjoyed working with people so much as I did at Friday's in 1994-1995.
Myron was of course among those many friends, but unlike so many friends along the way, Myron didn't disappear. He has remained ever-present in my life. In January 1996 Myron and 3 other Friday's servers, (Nick, Julie and Helen) moved to Las Vegas to start a new life in the big city. One month later, Joe and I, along with our family, also moved to Las Vegas.
It was a huge adventure and it was so nice to have friends there as well as family to have that adventure with.
Myron had transferred to the TGI Friday's restaurant in LV, and that is where I went also. Although we made a couple of friends there, it was not the same. My Friday's days in Vegas were over before they had begun. Myron stayed for a while, and I got a job dancing for a Polynesian production company at different venues around the city, and eventually a tour of Japan. Myron never stopped telling me how proud he was of me.
For my first performance at the Westward Ho, my Friday's friends had all said they could not make it. To my surprise, there they all were at the front row tables smiling up at me while I hula-ed my heart out. My eyes teared up, and there was Myron, with the biggest smile of all. They had planned it that way all along.
When I returned from Japan, Myron and I worked together at the Dragon Noodle at Mandalay Bay, and we went on to shine shoes together at the convention centers. Yes we shined shoes. It was a good paying job and lots of fun.
He dragged me down to apply for a banquet server job at the MGM Grand one afternoon, which he wanted more than I did. We lost the car in the ginormous parking garage and it took us quite a while to find it. As it turned out, I got the job and he didn't and I know he was a little mad at me for it, but at the same time happy for me. I didn't really last long there, as I found it very hard to work 14 hour shifts, come home at 2 AM, then be back in the morning after only 3 hours sleep, a challenge I know Myron would have tackled without complaint. He loved being a waiter. He loved tending to people and seeing them relax and enjoy. He loved serving fine wine and gourmet food, but he was just as comfortable at The Outback. Bottom line, he just loved people, Period. Seeing them enjoy is what brought him joy. Yep, that banquet job should have been his, not mine and I would have gladly given it to him if they'd let me.
When things got tough one year, Myron lived with us for a few months prior to moving back to Ohio to take care of his ailing mother. After she passed he stayed for over a year with Nancy and Doug Harrison, more of our friends from Friday's.
But, it didn't end there. We've had many more adventures since then as he finally ventured out to see other parts of our country. No matter where he was, he called or visited. He included Nancy and I in the things he loved most, to the extent of paying for and planning entire vacations for each of us one year. Those are stories in themselves and I know that Nancy will want to share hers. Lord knows she took enough pictures. (hehe) I will write more soon and share the time I spent with him in Florida. The stories we could write would fill a book, and you would laugh and you would cry. I hope that anyone visiting this memorial page will take the time to share your stories with us all. I know you all have one, because with Myron there was never a dull moment, if I may use the cliche. Stories and their memories are healing, and they are treasures we can keep, so that we will never forget, and so we can realize how one person can so visibly and deeply touch our lives. When you realize just what it was about Myron that touched you, take it, and use it, and be it and share it.