Mr. Nick

They say everyone has a twin, yikes that can be scary, but either Nick Zamoider has been reincarnated, never died, just left the area under the witness protection program or..........I just saw his twin.   My thoughts were: if this actually were a relative, they spent way too much time together.  This guy had an old pickup truck, hauling a bulldozer.  Scary isn't it!  His hands were as massive as Mr. Nick's, as he walked into the convenience store to pay for gas, the card reader at the pump not working, he was grumbling under his breath, so....Mr. Nick!  Standing in line awaiting his turn (I was directly behind him, for the same reason), he was fidgeting in his pocket for a cigarette.  Although I could not see the brand, once he retrieved it from his pocket, it was a short unfiltered type (yikes it was Mr. Nick), as he planted the little piece of bent tobacco between his lips, the clerk (part of the ethnic group that owns the majority of convenience stores in the world), Says "Sir, you cannot light that cigarette in my establishment nor inside any public place, it is the law." The twin tartly replies, "What the hell do you know about the G-damn law, you don't even come from here!"  Couple of things here, first I only mentioned the ethnic group because it is pertinent to the story, second, I  realized this must be someone who only shares a similar genetic makeup as Mr. Nick.  My thought process, Mr. Nick would never use profanity in front of women or children, at that point both were present. He would however, make such a remark...minus the profanity!

Nick Zamoider could have been Johann the Nephew.....Great's father.   Eccentric, outspoken very much a tinkerer, yet not a grubby.  Instead he was his mentor.  Both would sit at the far end of the counter, talking, arguing, plotting; Mr. Fanning's comment, "Nick's planning a revolution", just might have been closer to the truth than we thought.  Johann learned much from Mr. Nick, yet their arguing would send each into a tizzie, "He's such dumb fool," each would whisper about the other, eventually the stalemate would end, the plotting, arguing and conversations of how to make their world a better place, would continue.  Their world, was NOT our world, it existed only in their minds and Mr. Nick's heart. Nick and Johann were also alike in many ways, both self professed experts at everything, just ask them!  Having made the mistake of asking Nick a question about a Town issue, it became ingrained in my brain...we won't do that again.  That stupid little question turned into why we should live in a Marxist society.  Oh yes, Nick idolized Karl Marx or at least HE thought he did.

Although rumors Mr. Nick was once married, I never heard him speak about the subject.  He did have a longtime relationship with a wonderful woman from the neighboring Town.  She ran a daycare, Mr. Nick enjoyed visiting when the kid's were there.  They considered him a giant Teddy Bear who played and talked with them.  He would listen attentively to all their long stories, genuinely interested in each.  He often relayed the stories, to us as he sat in Fred's News sipping his afternoon coffee. This was the softer side of Mr. Nick, the side we most enjoyed.

Nick, also not a fan of the medical profession, had been bitten by a tick.  He began feeling "a little under the weather" but announced, "it would pass."  At the urging of friends and his girlfriend, he finally sought medical attention.  He had Lyme disease, which had brought on a series of other issues.  From that point on, Mr. Nick fought hard, but years of ignoring his health took its toll.  We were saddened to hear of his passing, but during the summer months, when afternoon thunderstorms were extremely loud, we understood, it was Mr. Nick, somewhere in the heavens, arguing and actually being himself.