So.. today was fairly peaceful and very productive. Lots of folks are off work this week, which makes it a good time to get things done. I took an hour off in the middle of the day to take a friend to lunch. It was good catching up we hadn’t had a chance to talk in some time. We were were having a pretty heavy discussion about work.. and what wasn’t going well there when a friend of both of ours walked in to the restaurant. We hadn’t seen each other since Sam died.. I was very saddened to learn that her 40 year old daughter was in the final stages of a terminal disease. She told me how sorry she was about Sam.. then we talked for about 15 minutes about life, death, surviving, grief, endurance, love, knowing and not knowing and all the stuff around a major loss.. or impending loss. We mostly listened. She was quiet and peaceful as she talked.. In the end o gave her a SamStone and a promise that I would check in on her over the next few months. She got up, said good bye and left…
As soon as she was gone, my friend and I went back to our conversation about the frustrations at work.. and I could tell.. it wasn’t bothering either of us so much now. Our mutual friend’s visit had given us one of those reality reminders about the real priorities in our lives. I can’t help thinking that the timing of her visit hadn’t been accidental…
Anyway… not much else to report for the day.. I have a big batch of SamStone placements I nede to post.. so I think I’ll start working on that.. One cool thing before i go.: My firend Joanne just sent me these pictures from her last visit to England. She took these around DIane and my old neghborhood in Winchester in Hampshire
This is the river canal down by Winchester College at the end of our street.
Aother view, looking back towards our street..
A bit closer into town.. We used to watch huge trout swimming here..
Our old flat. the one with the white door. 75 Canon St
,, and again from the other side. it looks just the way it did 22 years ago.. but then again.. it’s probabl lloked liek that for the last 200 years.
Brings back very good memories.. Like the time the older sisters across the street wondered by to ask why we cooked with so much garlic. They asked whether my wife was talian.. I replied that es, she was italian.. but not (yet) my wife.. From that day on the refered to Diane as my ‘consort’…
Well.. gotta sleep now.. happy almost July.. nite all.. nite Sam
-me