What’s on my mind?
My aunt’s Swiss cousin stopped writing. That was it - no letters, ever again. My aunt chewed on this like a dog chews on a bone. It bothered her that she didn’t know what had happened.
Was Susie ill? Was she on vacation? Had her letter been lost in the mail? It never once occurred to my aunt that Susie might have died. Susie was too young! Too vivacious! She skied! As though that might shield Susie from what happens to us all.
Neither Susie nor my aunt used email. They relied on letters slid through a slot in the door.
I didn’t know Susie, but my aunt was my favorite of many aunts. She died 10 years ago, never knowing what had happened to Susie. It must have been hard, not knowing.
Unlike my aunt’s predicament, I know exactly what happened to Joy. Who thought I’d remember her, some 40 years after we first met? The truth is, I’ve thought of Joy often. We first met to discuss a subject close to her heart - a topic that could have changed children’s lives for the better - but the government turned away.
What it was doesn’t matter now, but Joy’s efforts eventually drew 100,000 letters of public support. The lobbyists were too powerful; Joy’s campaign did not prevail.
What it was doesn’t matter now, but Joy’s efforts eventually drew 100,000 letters of public support. The lobbyists were too powerful; Joy’s campaign did not prevail.
After I retired, Joy and I talked every couple of years. Once, we had lunch at her place. I loved her intelligent, rat-a-tat, no-nonsense voice. Her husband of 66 years had been a banker. She seemed quieter after Reg died. And then I stopped hearing from her altogether.
Joy and Reg’s wedding anniversary would have been March 5; her birthday, a week later.
Joy and Reg’s wedding anniversary would have been March 5; her birthday, a week later.
I never met Garry, her son, or Donna, her daughter-in-law, but I know how much she loved them. Joy would have been 90 in March.
Joy lived well, but not extravagantly. In that practical way of hers, she’d say: “No one ever saw an armored car drive up to the cemetery.” Joy said that often.
I should have guessed what happened to Joy when I looked her up and couldn’t find her. The wonders of the Internet! Today, I stumbled across her obit. Joy was a nice woman; a good woman; a smart woman.
