Friend a Day – Jody Wurl

I’ve known Jody from my earliest days at the Renaissance Festival.  She started – I think – two years after me.

Jody has such a wealth of knowledge about books especially.  I think at least half of the speculative fiction books in my home are here based on her recommendation.  When we were younger, I’d read any book she put in front of me because she always made good suggestions.

She has always struck me as someone who is searching for joy in her life, even when there is sorrow.  She strives to find the best in life and even when she stumbles, she finds a way to return to that place of happiness.

I’ve watched her do so many things well over the years, it is staggering.  She is a great dancer, a great librarian, a great street performer, and now she is working on improv and I’m sure she is going to be great at that.  She probably already is – I just haven’t had a chance to watch her.

Family has always been so important to her.  She is always talking about her sisters and her nieces and always making time for them.  I can tell how much it means to her that her family is part of her life.

When it comes to details, she is so much better than I am.  When I talk about her wealth of knowledge, I can’t even believe how much information she just remembers.  The two of us work in the same department for CONvergence and thank goodness for that because if it was only me, none of the information would be retained.

She’s told me some hard truths over the years.  They weren’t always easy to hear.  I didn’t always react to them well.  But the sign of a good friend is someone who tells you hard truths.  They tell them to you because they care about you and they want to help you grow.

Jody has always been a friend who helped me grow.  I’m lucky that we have remained friends for so long.