Postcard to Friendship

Fifteen years ago, just after I registered the name of my new business, I received a postcard from Ken Mitchell at the Goodban & Walsh accounting firm offering me one free hour of accounting advice. Needing all the advice I could get, I took him up on it. Little did we know that that little postcard would lead to many years of a delightful friendship. In fact, Ken and I joked about that postcard the last time we saw each other, just a few weeks before he went to Bolivia.

Ken had a zest for life like no one else I have known. He was always reading something interesting, doing something fun or planning that next adventure. His passion for travel inspired me to do more traveling of my own, and to get off the beaten path to see the “real deal.” We had great fun discovering that we had both sat in the same funky Turkish bath in Budapest, beneath an amazing Ottoman dome, although I did it several years after he did. I never would have found that place if it weren’t for his tip. Thank you, Ken. And thanks for taking me to see that old MG that I thought I wanted to buy, even though when I got behind the wheel I couldn’t even steer the thing. You never laughed at me. You thought it was fun that I wanted to try.

Ken sure could get excited about cars! When we went to the Belmont Shore Car Show, he could name the model and year of any car just by looking at its fender. He said he had owned just about every one of those cars at one time or another! When one of my clients at Toyota invited me to tour the Toyota Automotive Museum (a well-hidden gem up in Torrance), I asked Ken to come along. He was like a kid in a candy store. They let us sit in all the old and rare cars, and Ken just loved that. He kept saying, “You can’t do this in other car museums!” He really knew how to appreciate those little special moments in life.

Good for Ken for lapping up life and sharing all he savored with those of us lucky enough to know him. He made a difference by being a caring, genuine guy who always wanted the best for those he cared about. I will sure miss him. Rest in peace, my friend.

Michele Marek
Long Beach, CA