Readers of these Thursday posts might recognize Crag and Donna as two of my oldest and dearest friends—our friendship dates back fifty years, and I have written about them here several times. But I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that for as long as I’ve known Craig it has been his dream to have a […]
Loneliness
Gary is out today but this is a post worth re-reading that Gary did in May talking about Loneliness. As a widower, I make the effort to cultivate my friendships and acquaintances. By doing so I hope to avoid the loneliness and disconnection that seems to be pervasive. The unfavorable outcomes of loneliness are […]
Other Pathways
Lately, I have taken to reading random Widow’s Blog posts, which are maintained in the Soaring Spirits archives, by authors who have come and gone from this site. Initially, I mainly was interested in determining what the average shelf life was for these writers while I mulled whether my own has about run its course. […]
Maintaining the Status Quo
I received a notification that I had a new message on MyChart. This message was a routine request from the office of a doctor with whom I am meeting later this month, requesting me to review and verify personal account information. While doing so I realized that Lee remains listed there as my emergency contact, […]
Back-to-School Days
I watch the kids walk by while sipping my coffee on the front stoop. Today, there is a crispness to the morning air that stirs memories of the first days of a new school year. Even if you were not the most enthusiastic student, those first days of school invariably were the most exciting ones. […]
Sunday Surprise
We celebrated Robyn’s birthday by extending it from Thursday until Sunday. Our celebration featured plenty of good food and drink, a live performance by the “Drunken Shakespeare” Company, cards, gifts, and cake. By Sunday afternoon we were both exhausted, I think. So, once Robyn departed my home I flipped on the television with every good […]
Music Has the Power
I feel my age every time I hear that another of my favored movie stars, television personalities or musicians has passed, but most of all I feel my age whenever the announcement concerns one of the long-haired musicians who were my contemporaries. In a span of less than two years, it’s goodbye to Robbie Robertson, […]
Kinless
Lee’s death is a seminal event in my life. Her death can still trigger profound grief, yet I am simultaneously full of gratitude for our life together, which is preserved in happy memory. Without her, I deal daily with the reality that I am now over seventy years old and without a wife, or kids, […]
Lola Turns Three
Lee died during the height of the pandemic, which the philosopher, Jonathan Lear, refers to as “the year of isolation,” long months before a vaccine was developed. (See https://news.uchicago.edu/why-mourning-essential-our-well-being-jonathan-lear.) It was a time of unprecedented uncertainty about our future. Everyone felt it. Not coincidentally, the pandemic also created unprecedented demand for animal companions. Suddenly breeders […]
In a Pickle
I was always a decent athlete, who loved to compete. As a kid, each Summer my folks would send me to a sports camp, which exposed me to a wide array of team and individual sports. And I was fortunate to get instruction from college level coaches. This instruction, together with the extra work I […]
Relentless Cancer
In case you might ever wonder, I do read my fellow writers’ weekly contributions to this site. My own tale is quite sad for me, of course, but not particularly dramatic. Simply, once Lee developed pancreatic cancer, her outcome was never much in doubt. As happens to millions of others each year, I lost my […]
Shattered Daydreams
I was saddened to read an article in yesterday’s newspaper about the plight of Ecuador, which, it is being reported, has lately become an unwelcome haven for violent criminal drug gangs. I visited the country several years back, on a scouting mission for an over-winter destination for me and Lee after her retirement. At the […]