James Notaras
Sorry I'm so late for this but just happened to google "Drivas Rexall Drugs" and this memorial came up. My name is Jimmy "JJ" Notaras, 2nd son of John Notaras of Appleton, Wisconsin. George and my dad were best friends. They both attended UW Madtown, both served America in WW2 as United States Navy personnel. And, of course, they were both Greek Orthodox Christian Men.
In the summertime my family and I would drive from Long Island, NY to Appleton but stop in Waupaca on the way to see George and his family. it was so long ago and the memories are only shadowy visions but still have them to cherish.
I say Cherish as I was only a kid at the time and didn't know or understand the family values and strong friendship ties that bind our lives together.
Let me digress a moment here as I want share with you what I was thinking at the time as some snot nosed kid with a New York accent who just sat in the back seat of a way overstuffed 1972 Buick Electra 225 for two and a half days trying to negotiate my way around an older brother and sister and two packed coolers full of turkey sandwiches, zero leg room, getting hot coffee spilled on me on it's way to my Dad only to step out of that "Terror Wagon" to see what I thought would be my "Nani" ( Grandmother) and her house.
"Dad, why are we standing in front of Drivas Rexall Drugs and not Nani ?"
"Who are these people, where's my fried chicken and why do you and your friend think I need to learn math, It's summertime!!?" Stop Jimmy, for this is about a strong bond between my Dad and his best friend. Strong enough to get my dad's family in front of his best friends family. Strong enough to bind the two together. During those summers when we stayed in Waupaca 2 or 3 days, the things we did and shared, how we spent our time and the way cool food we ate ( gimme a break, we're Greek ) didn't mean too much to me at the time, as the "Typical Kid" is was. It was only in retrospect where I use the word cherish and in every sense of the word cherish to describe those brief moments I lived, where I learned what's most important in our lives. It is the most fortunate person who cherishes what the present time gives them. Dear God, I pray that we all may understand how important you are to us and that we may use the tools you have given us to make our homes our children our lives, our Churches, our worlds, a better place to live..............
To all of you Drivas', God blesses you and God hears Georges supplications for his family and friends. The best you can do for him now is to be the best you can be, surely this is what he wants for you.
You know, I can still hear Michael Drivas the way he was at 6 years old saying in his total midwestern accent " how's it goin Jim....."
