Harvey Again
Prologue:
Denise Zimmerman is
A psychologist who I'd met a month ago
Right after we'd met we discovered that
We were both going to be starting
The same Jewish meditation class
Denise had told me about her acupuncturist
And I decided to give Yvonne a try
Friday 1/31:
During a session with Yvonne,
She asks me if I'd stopped by Denise's office
I say, "What do you mean?"
"Don't I know that Denise's office is here
In the same office suite?"
I didn't even know that
Denise's office is in the same building
Yvonne tells me that Denise's office
Is at the end of a hall on the way out,
I can't miss it,
Her name is on the door
After the session I look for Denise's office
There are two doors where the office should be,
But neither has her name
I start looking at other doors
In that general vicinity
A door just to the right,
At the end of a short hall,
Has a name which stops me in my tracks ---
Harve Meskin, MFCC
I knew a Meskin family when I was a kid
Back in Lakewood, NJ
Ralph Meskin was my Dad's CPA for a number of years
And I vaguely remember his wife Maxine and their son Harvey
Harvey might have been a couple of years older than me
And it is probably almost 40 years since I've seen him
Can this be Harvey?
I don't knock on the door or anything,
Since I have been told not to knock for Denise
Because she might be in session
I think about having someone at the reception desk
Call Harve or leave him a message, but I don't
That night I see Denise
At the monthly Beth El singles service
And tell her what has happened
She suggests leaving Harve a note
The next time I'm in to see Yvonne
It turns out that her door
Only has her name on it sometimes ---
She rents the office from someone else
And only puts her name plate on the door
When she happens to be in
Sunday 2/2:
I stop by Denise's house for the first time ---
It's just off Lakewood Street
Tuesday 2/4:
I am in for a special session with Yvonne
Because her teacher wants to meet me
After finishing with Yvonne
I decide to leave Harve a message
I leave my name and number and say
If you're from Lakewood, NJ, give me a call
That night, when I get home from a friend's
There is a message from Harve
Saying that yes, indeed, he is from Lakewood
And that it has been a long, long time
Wednesday 2/5:
Harve and I play phone tag
But finally get to talk
It turns out that he also
Went to the Hun School in Princeton
But didn't graduate from there either
He has changed his name to Harve
And is a psychologist and counselor
Friday 2/7:
I'm talking to Neil Hoos,
Telling him the Harve story,
And get a call waiting beep
It's a headhunter named Amy,
Whom I've found via the yellow pages,
Wanting a copy of my resume
Looking up her address,
I realize she's in the same building as
Denise, Yvonne, and Harve,
But one floor down
Tuesday 2/11:
Denise calls and says
She's bumped into a headhunter
From the floor below in her building
Whose name is Michael
I ask her if he's with Search 1 Systems,
The company that Amy's with
She says no, he's with Tri-Staff
I call him and the receptionist answers
Saying something about Tri-Staff,
Formerly System 1 Search
Later that day Denise calls again,
She's bumped into another headhunter
His name is Harvey and he's in her suite