To My Family, When I’ve Departed

Don’t cry for me.

I’ve had a full life.

Surrounded by people

I love and adore.

Who can ask

for anything more?

Not me.

Fairy Tale me,

I hope I will see 

My Betsy

*

To Emily and Thomas

Both show so much promise.

Gifted, born with much talent.

You have a full life before you.

Make it the best that you can.

Fulfill your destiny.

I’ll be watching from above,

Betsy beside me, my love.

*

Jeanne (My hero, a tribute)

My hat is off to you. Born with a disability, expert doctors said it was not polio.

At that time, little was known about polio. You couldn’t walk.

Expert polio doctors said your affliction was temporary. It would go away.

So wrong they were, it was polio, it was permanent.

One leg would be shorter than the other. You would need a brace to walk.

More than 50 years have passed, I cannot keep track of the time. Years have silently slipped by.

Tons of time has passed. You proved the learned doctors wrong. You became powerful and strong, and with the help of a cane, was laboriously walking. Defying all odds, you went to law school.

Through many years of hard word and study you passed a difficult bar exam and became an attorney.

To make this “brief” I will lay my pen down.

I want to emphasize the pride I have in what my granddaughter is doing.

Defending the poor, fighting “deep-pocketed corporations.” To their chagrin, she often wins. So keep going Jeanne.

Be a thorn in corporate sides, costing them a lot of money.

My pride knows no bounds. You are a shining example of doing public service. Long may you reign.

*

To Nora and Paul

Just a word to Nora and Paul. Wonderful neighbors who became our good friends, local and dependable to the end.

Many years have gone by. All is ending well. Nora and Paul persevered.

“Never give up,” was my mantra to them. Time is on your side. 

Right from the beginning, Nora and Paul were admirable people, our instincts were right. 

Due to my age, I don’t get around much. I’ve forgotten the last time I saw them.

My guess is that Paul is fixing things in his garage, Nora harvesting the fruit she has planted.

Happy Holidays, from me and Betty above.

*

Forest Lawn, a prestigious cemetery, people dying to get in. They make a lot of money from the flowers they sell, fragrant and full blown.

If you like good, classical music, not raucous “razz and jazz,” that’s the place you should be. If you want a good view when you are departed, that’s where you ought to be.

I’m in no hurry. I’m still making up my mind. I’m thinking, I’m thinking.

To be or not to be.

(December 30, 2020)