Author: Abby Nardo

Posted on

Memory submitted by Helen Boone

When did you meet Mickey?
1972

Where did you meet him?
Air Force friends from the 70’s

Memory of Mickey
After Hurricane Katrina I was working again for Habitat for Humanity, and Oprah Winfrey developed a plan to build a street of houses in Jackson, MS, for families who had left New Orleans after the storm. This was going to be a week-long blitz with 10 or 12 houses, and we needed volunteers. I invited Mickey and Sharon to come over to stay with us and work. It was great fun: Sharon, as the architect, could identify which pieces went where in the construction. Mickey, on the other hand, could do it all. His (and her) community spirit reached far and wide.

Posted on

Memory submitted by Larry Thompson

When did you meet Mickey?
1971

Where did you meet him?
U.S. Air Force

Memory of Mickey
I arrived at RAF Lakenheath with a terrible headache. I thought I was just jet-lagged, but the headache and confusion increased. A flight surgeon on night call assumed that I was an addicted anesthesiologist needing narcotic without an OR supply. He wrote me off, but Mickey Nardo, covering the next day, also suspicious that I might be needing a “fix”, didn’t write me off. He had the insight to know that I had been at Wichita Falls, Texas for basic training, where equine encephalitis was epidemic at the time. He admitted me to the hospital, where a spinal tap sent to N.I.H. confirmed his diagnosis. It would be fair to say that “Mickey Nardo saved my life.” I will always be grateful to him for his ability to read me well enough to believe that I would not be an addict.

Posted on

Memory submitted by Walter Boone

When did you meet Mickey?
1972

Where did you meet him?
In the Air Force as internists.

Memory of Mickey
Mickey and I served as Internal Medicine partners in the Air Force at Lakenheath AFB in the UK in the 70’s. There was a little rebellion on our part: wide blue ties, unauthorized haircuts, borrowing gates to use for pig roasting, etc. But I think that is where we learned to practice medicine. Together we got our footing in sharing patient stories and searching for solutions. He went on to become a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst; I trained in gastroenterology. Those years, however, were among the best I remember as a physician. Our friendship has never wavered through the years.

Posted on

Memory submitted by Jane Lipscomb

When did you meet Mickey?
1975

Where did you meet him?
Morningside

Memory of Mickey
I had a difficult time narrowing my memories of Mickey down to one incident. In the 40 years I knew him there is a long stream of memories. When we met around 1975, we were having egg hunts at our house in Morningside. When we moved to Talbot County, those egg hunts became Egg Roasts at The Farm. Over the years we had over 40 people coming for the weekend before Easter to enjoy BBQ by Andy, Mickey and Al and egg hunts with over 300 eggs. Children grew up coming and then bringing their college friends and later their families.

I think of Mickey as a ‘quiet presence’. He was usually not loud or boastful, but just there. In a large group, he would often be off on the side listening or talking to someone of playing with a child.

One of the Egg Roast weekends was different. He had a new jeep from Jasper Jeep and wanted to show it off. He loudly invited folks to a ride down the dirt road. This led to several trips with a jeep load of kids and brave adults racing down the bumpy road. He broke his axle and folks, along with Sharon, always reminded him of that crazy night.

We had a prizes and trophies for the weekend. They included the BBQ and Bourbon Society and Pig’n’Puke award. That weekend we added another called 6 Flags Over Mickey. This memory was not of the ‘quiet presence’, but of the instigator of ‘fun things to do’.

Posted on

Memory submitted by Jane Lipscomb

When did you meet Mickey?
1975

Where did you meet him?
Morningside and Jasper

Memory of Mickey
I think of Mickey as being a ‘quiet presence’. He was not loud or boastful, but just there. In a large group, he would be off on the side listening or talking to someone or playing with a child. Unless you were the one in the corner with him, you may not have noticed him. He did make his opinions known with letters to the editor in the AJC and Pickens Progress.

Andy met Mickey around 1975 while working on the roof of our friends house in Morningside. This was a problem with his acrophobia and he wasn’t seen up high very often.

Morningside years were filled with many different memories:

  • Planning and shopping for all night pig roasts in the park with Andy and Bob
  • Cooking and preparing the food which involved picking pig eyeballs out of the stew (already shared by Mary Ann Gaunt)
  • All night in the park with stories, drinking and breakfast of Moon over Miami
  • Helping us insulate and sheetrock our upstairs room
  • Andy working on their homes on University and Rock Springs
  • Our baby sitting coop with Mickey, the favorite sitter for the kids, especially my son Adam
  • Sharon and I going back to school in architecture and nursing with our husbands blessings and support
  • Making pasta and sausage with friends at their house
  • Many shared meals and a listening ear when needed

After we moved to the farm, we kept up long distance with visits and the annual egg roasts:

  • Mickey completely rewired our first old home in Woodland – later discovering the color of the wires were crossed, but everything worked, so we always had a laugh over it
  • Their Atlanta home was always open to us and shared with our daughter-in-law, Suzannah, while she was in law school and our son, Micah, while he was working in Atlanta
  • Egg roasts involved long distance planning and he and Al along with Sharon and Mary Ann coming early to get everything ready – he was often seen sitting by the fire smoking while everyone hunted eggs
  • One particular Egg Roast he took everyone on wild rides in his jeep over the dirt roads – a more boisterous Mickey and the beginning of the award called “6 Flags over Mickey”
  • When computers came, he and Ken Cook built and kept computers working at our home and Andy’s Housing Authority office, and he wrote very simple booklets to teach you how to work with the computers
  • Later visits to Al and Mary Ann and then Sharon and Mickey in Jasper which prompted our retirement there

Jasper years:

  • Mickey in a rocker on the porch or sitting in front of his computers with a cigarette and cup of coffee
  • Interacting with my grandchildren whenever they were in town – usually having a toy or project out for them
  • BBQ’s at Grandview Lake
  • Research and excitement over his work on the Bent Tree project with Don and Bob
  • Working at Good Sam with him
  • Support in many ways when Andy was sick and after his death – Mickey sat for hours in our driveway awaiting the arrival of a hospital bed from Hospice, so Andy could come home from the hospital

Mickey was there with his medical and counseling skills wherever and whenever needed:

  • We were comfortable, as were many others, calling with personal, family or friends issues and getting advice, explanations or referrals for medical, addiction or mental health problems or whatever was bothering you
  • Andy was always relieved to talk to Mickey and get complicated things explained in laymen’s terms that he could understand – Abby mentioned in her father’s obituary his skill in “turning complex concepts into memorable vignettes”

Along with his ‘quiet presence’, my memories of Mickey are as a ‘serial hobbyist’, a term that was mentioned in one of his obituaries. With each, he may have started a novice, but delved into it and became expert, then went on to something else. A few of his skills and hobbies were:

  • Tailoring
  • Sailing
  • Building a wooden canoe in his basement – Andy and Bob helping him figure how to get it out
  • Astronomy
  • Building and finishing out pole barn structures with the 3 old men
  • Hand tying fishing flies
  • Collecting dulcimers and learning to play
  • Decorating his cabin with Inuit art
  • Blacksmithing
  • Last, and certainly not least, delving into the pharmaceutical industry and drug trials, reanalyzing data, and working with researchers over the world to publish findings

GOODNIGHT MICKEY!
Miss your quiet presence. Would love to know what you, Andy and Al are up to now.

Posted on

Memory submitted by Connie Bobbitt

When did you meet Mickey?
1971

Where did you meet him?
RAF Lakenheath

Memory of Mickey
These photos were from one of our Pig Roasts (4th of July) while at RAF Lakenheath. We had one in 1972 & 1973 – both were held at Mickey & Sharons beautiful country home Lidgate Hall. I’m not certain but these may have been the beginning of Mickey’s Pig Roast career. All of the guys were stay at the house cooking the pig all night then the ladies would show up with our Aunt Zoe’s beans, cucumber-onion salad and desserts. Our British friends really enjoyed helping the “Yanks” celebrate our Independence Day! The funniest story was that Mickey & Walter Boone were in search of a grate large & sturdy enough hold the pig over the fire pit when behold they spied a perfect gate at the hospital! Naturally they decided to “borrow” it one evening – somehow the hospital commander didn’t find it at all humorous!

Posted on

Memory submitted by Tatyana Kelly

When did you meet Mickey?
1974

Where did you meet him?
Childhood father figure

Memory of Mickey
I have several memories of Mickey as a child. He was so different from my own father, who is careful in his interactions with the world.

Mickey approached things in a carefree, bold, inquisitive, demanding way; sloshing coffee along the way and not being bothered with decorum. He didn’t care what his hair looked like. He wore what was comfortable and familiar.

As something of a rule follower, I am still astounded that Atlanta City Parks allowed him and his friends to roast full animals (goat, pig and god knows what else) in a public park. Several years in a row. And encouraged us kids to camp out while they did. Pretty sure that wasn’t allowed, even back then.

He built a boat in his basement. In the city limits. I’m sure HE knew it was going to be the right size to get back out of the door, but I know I was pretty doubtful.

He challenged the status quo, knew what he wanted, and was a force of nature.

I’m glad to have known him.

Posted on

Memory submitted by Angie Bolin

Where did you meet him?
Cousin by Marriage

Memory of Mickey
I’m a cousin by marriage to Mickey, being Sharon’s cousin. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to spend much time with Mickey, but when I was with him, I appreciated his sense of humor, kindness and intelligence. He was such fun to be with! The biggest impact Mickey and Sharon had on my family was a time when, after my son-in-law, Andrew, had a terrible accident and serious brain injury and no rehab clinic would accept him. The excuse that he would always be a “vegetable,” and would cost $1,000,000.00 a year for upkeep. Sharon mentioned the problem to Mickey and he went to bat for us at Shepherd’s Clinic in Atlanta. Andrew was accepted, and Sharon and Mickey wrapped their love around my daughter, Allison, and took her into their family in Atlanta for an extended period, while Andrew was treated. Andrew is now normally functioning husband and father, thanks to Mickey!

Posted on

Memory submitted by Connie Bobbitt

When did you meet Mickey?
1971

Where did you meet him?
RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk England

Memory of Mickey
The first few photos are from one of our two Pig Roasts held at Mickey & Sharon’s home, Lidgate Hall. We had one in 1972 and another in 1973, then the Nardos & Bobbitts returned stateside the summer of 1974. The invitation says 4th Annual, but honestly I don’t know why. I guess we just picked up the tradition! One thing that made ours so much fun was that we invited our British friends who totally enjoyed celebrating our Independence Day!

Posted on

Memory submitted by Hunter McCreary

When did you meet Mickey?
1990

Where did you meet him?
Mickey was my godfather and very special to my family.

Memory of Mickey
When I was very little, Mickey taught me how to talk like Donald Duck. When I was in an interview trying to get accepted to a school, the interviewer came out and asked my parents if I always talked like Donald Duck? Turns out I had decided I didn’t like that school and decided to get out of it by doing the whole interview like Donald Duck.

He was always Uncle Mickey to me my entire childhood. He taught me how to blow bubbles with bubble gum, catch frogs with a pan, and always asked me how college was going, even when I was in middle school.

I remember him sitting outside on the front steps of the office building, smoking a cigarette, and asking me all kinds of questions about my life and school.

I loved him very much, and he was there for me recently during a difficult period in my life. He has always been there, and the world already seems a little less bright.