I recently lost a good friend and although I had the opportunity to say a few words at his wake, I chose not to. I've had second thoughts about not speaking at the wake and, to tell you the truth, it has bothered me ever since.

My friend's name was Tom Goodnough (Goody) and believe me, he was a Daler through and through. He was born and raised in Farmingdale. Many people in this town knew him very well. For those of you who didn't, Goody was a letter carrier and clerk in the Farmingdale Post Office for more than 30 years.

What made Goody so special was that whatever he was involved in and you were part of it, he made you feel at ease. If something funny was going to happen, it seemed that Tom was right in the middle of it.

I came to work at the Farmingdale Post Office December 1977. One of the first to introduce himself to me was Tom. He said "Hi," and then followed it with "Met fan?" I said, "No," "Football Giant fan then?" I said "Yes." That was it - we were friends. When I invited him over to my house for a Giant game, the doorbell rang and there was Tom dressed in his Giant regalia with a Giant doll in his hands. Our wives talked upstairs, Tom and I were downstairs, watching the Giant game. It was now 1983; the Giants were not a good team. Every time the Giants made a mistake, the doll was airborne. My kids loved it.

Goody's favorite baseball player was Joe Adcock, who played for the Milwaukee Braves back in the 1950s and '60s. He loved the game of baseball. We played softball together for many years. Goody would say that "the Farmingdale Post Office team might be in last place, but we were first to the cooler." We also played golf. We would get out a couple of times a year. Every golf outing was an adventure. In the game of golf there is something called a Mulligan (do over shot); not when we played, it was called a "Goody."

Goody got sick in the late 1980s. He had undergone heart bypass surgery. Before you knew it Tom was back at full swing. Cracking jokes and playing golf and softball. We had an ongoing question about sports. Back in 1966, a pitcher on the Atlanta Braves, whose name was Tony Cloninger, had hit a three-run homer in the first inning and had a grand slam in the second; both of us agreed that had happened, but Tom said it was in Atlanta stadium and I said it was in San Francisco. One day we were at Yankee Stadium and who comes walking by but Tony Cloninger, who was then a bullpen coach with the Yankees. We asked him and he verified it was San Francisco. Even Tony Cloninger had a laugh about two guys remembering him.

In the late 1990s, Goody got sick again with heart problems and in July 2001 he received a heart transplant. He survived and before you knew it, was back with us at work. We all told him how brave he was to have undergone that type of surgery, but Goody took everything in stride. He was back, playing golf, but not softball. We still had great times playing golf.

A couple of years after the transplant, Goody started going in and out of the hospital. He came back every time and still had the same great attitude. Every time I saw him, he would say "It wasn't time yet," and every time he would rally and come home. What a trooper.

In late 2004, Goody was diagnosed with a brain tumor. On March 9, 2005, Goody passed away. All his friends thought he would pull through. I guess Goody thought it was time. He had been through so much. I saw him a couple of days prior to his passing. That great attitude was still there. He loved his friends, but most of all he loved his family and his wife, Judy.

It wasn't us who made him feel special, it was he who made everyone around him feel special.

I haven't played golf lately, but I will again and when I do, I will make sure I take my Goody make-up shot!"

Pete "Fud" Furgiuele

Farmingdale Post Office