My mother died at the beginning of the year. Thank you to everyone who has expressed sympathies. I appreciate your support and kind words very much. Death in real life differs from death on television. On television, people collapse in inconsolable puddles. In real life, there’s much to do. And that’s before you get to the bureaucracy of estates. My mom’s memorial service is this … Continue reading Death and busywork – an off-the-cuff joint.
My son was four weeks old when the ball dropped and the century changed. I couldn’t believe that four weeks had passed already, and I couldn’t believe that here I was, age thirty, watching the dawn of a new millennium. I wasn’t much concerned with the end-of-days doomsayers. There were two types, the religious and the technical. I figured we had more to fear from … Continue reading Happy New Year.
The personal library. I’ve always had a library. Granted, at times, the “library” designation should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt. Is a teenager’s closet really a library, even if half is sectioned off for only books? Can you call it a library if it’s only the three shelves of the built-in wardrobe in your dorm room? I did. Perhaps it’s more accurate … Continue reading Reading and libraries, an off-the-cuff joint.
On grief and grieving. Did you know that Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ 1969 book “On Death and Dying” was written for medical practitioners? She wanted to address the treatment protocols for dying patients by providing information to fellow practitioners on what the experience was like for their terminal patients. It’s not a blueprint for people going through the grieving process after they’ve lost someone as I always … Continue reading The fractured nature of (my) grief.
From Famine to Feast 