September 9 is the date set for our block party, an annual late summer event for the past five years, or so, except for two years when there was no block party due to Covid. The dates change but it’s always held on a Saturday around this time of year. I’m not sure of its […]
Blank Slate
I’m staring at a blank screen, hoping that I’ll find something to say today that is entertaining, or at least interesting. Some weeks it’s been harder than others for me to crank out a thousand words or so on a blog site that is called the “Widows Voice.” It has started out being one of […]
You’re Never Too Old To Learn Something New
At this stage of my life, giving back to my community seems to me a very good idea. But I wonder whether I would feel this way today had Lee not died. I tend to doubt it. Lee and I loved to spend time together. We had not only planned, but were fast approaching, what […]
Blast From the Past
Thinking about these things today, I could not say precisely when I first began to check out from my work. However, I still vividly remember warming to the notion of retired life with Lee, who had bailed from her own work as soon as practicable. When she retired, Lee was not counting on falling deathly […]
Collateral Damage
The other day I received a call from my friend Steve. I met Steve during high school; he is another charter member of the Frazier Thomas Band. We were very close friends until one day we were not. I won’t regale you with the specific reasons, suffice to say that we did not speak for […]
You Say It’s Your Birthday
In my first posting to this site back in the early winter of 2021 (February 4, 2021), entitled “Please allow me to introduce myself,” I described two of the existential issues I had to confront during the early days following Lee’s death: “So I was left to ponder the BIG QUESTIONS: Am I destined to […]
But Still…
I’ve been going nuts with the business of living ever since I returned home on Sunday, following my final few days at Deer Tick Manor. As I a prepare tonight’s impromptu cookout for some neighbors, I’m afraid that this week’s blog offering has less meat on the bone than is typical. *** As for my […]
Farewell Deer Tick Manor
Regular readers by now will be familiar with Deer Tick Manor, the semi-rural property that Lee and I acquired almost 20 years ago. On July 18th, I bid farewell to Deer Tick. By late afternoon on that date, the place should have new owners, who may call it by any name they wish. To help […]
Three Old Men
My close friendships with Eric and Bob go back to our high school days. We have remained so throughout these many years, despite the changes in our respective personal circumstances that inevitably occur over the course of a lifetime: wives and girlfriends, children and grandchildren, jobs and careers, and health being chief among these. The […]
Message in a Bottle
As you knew would happen, it’s been an emotional couple of weeks for me as I approach the second anniversary of the date of your passing. I have no clue where to find you or, really, any way to know whether you exist apart. I do know that when I look up into the night […]
Fighting Through Inertia
The confluence of two celebratory occasions, Father’s Day, and my birthday, leaves me in a pensive mood today. As I have told you before, I have not fathered any children, a fact that is among my regrets in this life. Unlike Mick Jagger, whose youngest child was born in 2016 when Mick was already in […]
Arrow of Time
I was married to Lee on June 12th, which was this past Sunday. Can I still say that June 12th is my anniversary? Or that June 12th was my anniversary? Should I say that June 12th would have been our anniversary? Using proper grammar can be daunting, especially when referring to a loved one who […]