Michael, You’ve asked me for an update on my new life. I am only too happy to share. You have all shared so much I feel a kinship with you. The house is sold and as of 12-22 (yes, three days before Christmas) we are residents of Boxborough. We have a renovated 3 bedroom apartment in […]
Matthew My flight was supposed to leave the Evansville airport at 11:20, however, as usual things did not go exactly as planned. As soon as I passed through security I noticed that my flight was delayed until 12:10. No big deal, or so I thought, until they changed it yet again to 1:10. This would […]
“As we remember James, we hope for peace, strength and courage to rise above the sadness and confusion.” This afternoon at Lincoln-Sudbury there was a rememberance ceremony for the boy who was killed at the high school on January 19. In the three weeks that have gone by the kids at that school have truly […]
The concrete box is finally placed into the grave and now it’s time to set-up the casket lowering device. Again, nothing modern about this gizmo. Keith pulls out wooden planks from his truck to lay on the ground, and then various metallic pieces that he assembles on the planks, around which he winds his blue […]
Michael I’m not sure how hard up for blog content you are, and whether you’re still speaking to me so: I got invited to high tea on Saturday at the home of a retired colleague. (She made all the food from scratch except the scones.)  Another retired colleague not only took photos but sent them […]
Michael: “You’ve got to write a blog post, with pictures. Make sure Linda brings your camera when she picks you upâ€. Dan: “God’s punishment for not being with you in Indianaâ€. Beware of black ice on the driveway when you fetch the morning paper—or better yet, train your dog to get it. I did neither…these […]
We’re off to catch our plane home so no time for an update other than an out of focus shot – again, near Latham, and this self-explanatory one.
When we entered Latham Cemetery, and I confess I was still unsure that all my phone calls had produced a ready hole in the ground, we saw, in the distance, a lone truck next to a fresh mound of earth. We pulled up to the driver and instead of introducing ourselves we simply said hi. […]
I’m tired and I’m not sure how best to tell the rest of this story, so I’ll do what I always do when something feels too big. I’ll chop it into small pieces. I’m happy Diane and Peter were part of this, and I wish Brian had been too. It still feels right that we […]
Look, I know this has become a macabre, deeply black-humored, morbidly fascinating event, but the fact that I too can laugh along with everyone else doesn’t mean I miss my father any less. But how the hell else can one cope with all this? With a straight face? I don’t think so. We filled our […]
We’ll be stopping in Nevada, Missouri on our way back to Evansville. After spending some of Thursday touring metropolitan Latham, I thought it only made sense to visit the town where my mother grew up. I haven’t been to Latham since 1985, or Nevada since the early seventies when I helped Peter drive out to […]
We’ve reserved a Chrysler Town & Country which has seats that will fold down into the floor, leaving enough room for my father, Diane, Peter and me. I did check on the cargo area, and I was assured there would be enough, not for a casket, or “casket-sized steamer trunk,” but for a “large box […]