Caller ID Is Not Always a Good Thing…

But then again, neither is voicemail…

As I sort of vaguely remember it, I think, once upon a time at a Foothill Wines wine tasting, we had a bottle of Bonaccorsi wine (don’t remember if it was on the schedule, or a bonus), and Mike Bonaccorsi might have been there with the bottle (I’m gonna have to consult with Bronwyn or Ryan)…

Anyway, I do know that I went poking one day, and found the Bonaccorsi Wine Co. Web site. In the Wine Shop is the Hands Free ordering option: they send you four, six, or 12 bottles of wine twice a year. I signed up, got my first shipment, and life was beautiful. I may have gotten a second shipment, as well.

There came a time when there was a little glitch in an order (because we moved up to Boulder Creek? I think that was it). I called the number on the invoice; after hours, IIRC. Mike Bonaccorsi answered. After we got that little surprise straightened out, it came to pass that the number was to his cell phone. We got the address thing out of the way, and then he asked how I liked the wine. Unfortunately, I hadn't opened the chardonnay, but I was at least able to natter somewhat intelligently about the bottle of red I had opened. We must have been on the phone for 20 minutes or so.

Last September’s shipment, somehow, got shipped to Lasheart, and fortunately, got forwarded up to Tinker’s Trail. I didn't get around to calling about the address change until this afternoon.

I called the number on the invoice, and got Mike’s voice mail. I left my name and number, and when I'd called, and that I needed to talk about address stuff for the next shipment. I’d then called DMV, checking after the personalized plates for the Burb, which was a bit of a pain. The gal I spoke with said she’d check with the Watsonville office (since the Capitola office is closed for refurbishing) and call back.

Somewhat later, the phone rang. I was hoping it was the DMV gal, but the Caller ID showed Mike’s cell phone number. I *almost* said, “Hi, Mike!”, like I usually do when I know who’s on the other end, but something stopped me; I said, “Hello.” instead. The fellow on the other end was not Mike. He introduced himself, and said that Jennie (wife?) had asked that he call back and let me know that Mike had passed away.

After I allowed as how ”I guess I’m out of touch,” we got the address thing straightened out. After that truly amazing conversation, I stuffed a few brain cells back in my right ear, and poked around on Google. Jenne is, indeed, his widow.

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