Farewell Friend Frank - Frank Oakes is Promoted to the Fullness of the Universe

Naples has lost a real treasure.  Below is an excerpt from the book I wrote about my recovery from heart disease.

I had discovered that our daughter, Ami, was mistaken about not being able to find good organic food in Naples. Neo-Akhenaton also had been instrumental in providing most of the other food at the party. He probably didn’t realize it at the time, but most of the party food came from Frenetic Frank, a mutual friend and business partner of Neo-Akhenaton, in the best organic food store in Southwest Florida. 

Frenetic Frank really deserves the name I have given him; (fre·net·ic or phre·net·ic. Wildly excited or active; frantic; frenzied). If Frank had been in grade school any time during the last twenty-five years, I am sure some well intentioned teacher would have thought he was hyperactive and sent him to the school psychologist. ADD is a high-IQ related disorder and, as a Gifted Child Coordinator, I am very familiar with this condition. Frenetic Frank is a classic example of a brilliant, speedy, gregarious, eccentric, talk-a-mile-a-minute person, although he is probably in his sixties by now. Thank God nobody “cured” him of his condition way back when. He operates an organic farm and manages the accompanying retail outlet. He moves in a constant whirlwind of activity – I have yet to see him stand still!  Even when he shares his considerable knowledge of nutrition and health with a customer, Frank still dances from one leg to another, his arms and hands flitting about as he speaks. He is one of the happiest men I know, with a broad smile and a constant waterfall of positive phrases, philosophy, reassurance, and compliments pouring out of his mouth. “Everything is going to be all right. Things are going to be all right so much that people will wonder how I could be so blessed.”  “Don’t worry, be happy!”  “Think happy. Feel happy. Be Happy. And don’t forget to smile.” “The strawberries were just picked this morning and they are great.”  “We also have fresh turnips and potatoes. All organic, of course, and lovingly watched over by little old me.”  “Every day in every way things just keep getting better and better, and we have some freshly made organic hummus in the Deli.” It is a real joy to shop, even for a party, at Frenetic Frank’s. In later months as I became a regular customer at “Food and Thought” I noticed something very reassuring. Two of the doctors I admire, Dr. Star and Dr. Nobel, were also regular customers of Frenetic Frank.