Yesterday, I wore my grandmother’s lapel pin. It served as an excellent pick-me-up, both for my mood and my outfit. I thought about my elegant Grandma as I accepted compliments on the pin throughout the day. I have a celestial theory that is all my own. I believe memories enhance the divine experience of those [...]
Tag: Nostalgia
Requiem for a cello
As the sweet notes of Molly's final cello recital filled Harper Hall yesterday, I leaned back in my familiar chair (aisle seat, audience left, midway up) and thought, as I had so many times in Molly's musical career, "What a lovely tune. I've never heard it before." Like her siblings before her, Molly enjoyed playing, [...]
Before he was anything, my dad was a brother
Golden footballs and priceless memories
It isn’t easy to get to my father’s hometown. At best you have to fly into Pittsburgh and drive 76 miles east over the Allegheny Range, hoping the roads stay clear as you climb Chickaree Mountain on route 22. We made the pilgrimage entirely by car for most of my life, an excruciating 12-hour road [...]
A Popcorn Christmas
Twelve days before Christmas I sat on a couch next to Molly cursing a little as I strung stale popcorn on thin thread that kept slipping from the confoundingly small hole of its needle. She leaned over and calmly said, "You know, I find this very relaxing. I don't mind finishing myself." "Absolutely not," I [...]