Getting to Know the Old Lady Who Got Away How Shirley’s Life Ends, and This Story Begins My friend, Margaret, sent me Shirley Zussman’s obituary, published in New York Times Legends. (I’ve copied it below, broken into paragraphs to make it easier to read.) Margaret knows I seek out old ladies — and Shirley was certainly something! […]
Roof Days With Marge
The Blessing of a 103-year-old Friend Roof Days with Marge shamelessly echoes Tuesdays with Morrie, the 2007 bestseller by Mitch Albom, about “an old man, a young man, and life greatest’s lessons.” This post is about an old woman and a somewhat-less-old woman, and life’s most challenging passage! #successful aging Marge will be 104 in […]
Why Biden Must Win
February 26, 2020 was my cousin Ronnie’s birthday. It was also the day Jim Clyburn announced his game-changing endorsement and called on us, via Twitter, to “stand with @Joe Biden”: I know Joe Biden. I know his character, his heart, and his record. Joe Biden has stood for the hard-working people of South Carolina. We […]
Unexpected Effect of the Pandemic #2: Housecleaning
When news of the pandemic sunk in, I didn’t immediately think, “Oh, no! That means I’ll be mopping the floor and cleaning my own toilets. But in the post-apocalyptic world, house cleaning is part of the Zeitgeist. “I’m trying to figure out how clean the toilet without sticking my hand in,” Marge says today, when […]
Even in a Pandemic, “Look for the good”
How do we get through this? Zelda* believed in the healing power of laughter. But I’m also sure she would have told us: Look for the good. “It’s always there, honey — something.” She reminded me often and had lots of examples: “When I spoke to my son-in-law after his stroke, and he said, ‘Mom, […]