This may seem disjointed; that's simply the way things are. My friend Harriet, the Harriet who is very much alive, is a quilter. She sews the most beautiful quilts (and other things, too) and has the best sewing adventures to tell, stories I would share except that they are hers and not mine. I mention … Continue reading The living and the dead.
The third thing she told me was that life begins at 50. She said this just to me, out of earshot from my traveling companion, as she was tucking me back into the driver's seat, right before she said, "I love you," which is what she always said at the end. We had been together … Continue reading Life begins at 50.
Perhaps the real purpose of keeping a journal is for the assurance, at some later date, that one is still oneself - voice, hand, and eye as distinct as fingerprints. The years spanned are a blur, but each minute is frozen in crystalline precision. Only in time do the entries divulge what they always were: … Continue reading The beauty of an ordinary life.
Some days involve dog vomit. Now, I know what you're thinking: "I don't have dogs. My days never involve dog vomit." But everyone has dog vomit days, I promise, even you people who don't have dogs. Flat tires, fallen trees, freezers that go on unannounced strike and leave behind a mess of melted gelato. Dog … Continue reading A priest and a rabbi walk into a bar.
Doris died yesterday. To write that Doris was one of my employees would grossly understate her impact on me, but to write that she was a friend would be an unnatural stretch. Doris was life's wisdom in a floaty summer skirt and size 10 sandals, half a size to large for us to trade shoes. … Continue reading Someone is waiting.
Car time used to be NPR time, Morning Edition on the way to work and All Things Considered on the way home. It lasted through my children's first years; but when they grew old enough to understand words though not mature enough for much of NPR's content, we switched to music then to audiobooks. I … Continue reading The way life happens.
She's a Savannah girl, transported to Memphis to follow her true love. They met at Duke, years ago. Later they would tell different stories about their early romance, but the common narrative was that they married other people, had families, lived lives apart and then rediscovered one another, each newly single, during a reunion weekend. … Continue reading Starting over.
When your close friends help your community outreach, it's encouraging. When someone you hardly know helps, it's humbling. Thanks, Jessica, for the reminder that volunteer blood donors help real patients in real places everywhere, every day. Give the Gift of Life This Holiday Season.... GIVE BLOOD!.
