On Sunday afternoon, I was working hard in my kitchen preparing some green chili queso for a Super Bowl get-together when I got one of those texts you never want to get.
It was from a friend letting me know that Cathy Cummings – the beloved proprietor of Vito’s Ristorante, former Mayor of The Village, and one of the sweetest, nicest, and most cheerful people you'll ever meet – had passed away at the age of 62, after a brief and painful struggle with gallbladder cancer.
She was survived by her husband – fellow restaurateur and anti-Ryan Walters advocate Sean Cummings – and five children.
When I heard the news, I immediately had to stop what I was doing and gather my wits. I knew Cathy received a pretty devastating cancer diagnosis back in the Fall, but I was still taken aback by the suddenness of her passing.
As I stood over a cutting board of freshly diced green chilis, I planted my hands firmly on the counter and took a couple of deep breaths as memories flashed through my mind. I then felt a couple of tears well up in my eyes, and it wasn’t because of the peppers.