Loss of a great friend and inspiration
Christian & I always looked forward to having Maureen and Normal for ourselves at our house for dinner and marvelous conversations. A lot was about Art, and having an affinity for the modern art of the 40, 50 and sixties, Norman was a wealth of information, stories and insight into the art world half a century back. .
He stood out as a mild mannered, considerate and compassionate person, always at the ready to say positive things about people around him. I don’t think I have heard him say anything negative about anybody. He didn’t gossip, he cared. Norman met people on their terms. The red thread in conversations, writings and life, seem to be all about the search for verum, bonum, pulchrum – for what was true, good and beautiful. If you look at the few examples of his photography, it’s always the different angle and new light and the rare composition.
We had also great fun with Norman and Maureen, when Hurricane Wilma visited Naples. Their neighborhood under mandatory evacuation, they stayed at our guest bed room. After a spirited dinner & evening, we all went to sleep and when the wind blew really loud we gathered in the living room for hurricane watch, while Maureen was still sound asleep. We took peaks outside, learned that the storm was close and waited it out, continuing our conversation from the previous night. Norman, the great story teller, made us forget all about the disaster happening outside. His calm and resolve, I am sure came from a great sense of peace and love for his fellow humans, which let you be at easy around him, it made it easy to love him back.
More on Naples Daily News: Former Scripps-Howard cultural affair critic Norman Nadel dies at 95 (NDN), October 25, 2010)
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