His mother died many years before I moved into their former home and began restoring her gardens. I invited him to see her long-lost white peony, now covered in blooms. Cane trembling, he damply blessed the flowers of his childhood.
May 31, 2006
May 30, 2006
130/365 Stavros
A Greek with an Italian accent, he loved the way I turned his pseudo-sentences into readable prose. He wanted to love other things, too. The fact that he had a pretty American wife didn’t seem to count for a lot.
May 29, 2006
129/365 Andrew
Andrew contacted me to correct a dangerous misapprehension. His information, though badly needed, was hard to take, and he was a stranger. Still, I trusted him. His hands looked exactly like my father’s. I stared at them the entire time.
May 28, 2006
128/365 Josette
She dispels the usual image of a female bartender. Middle-aged, she hugs with genuine warmth. She recognizes her customers at places far away from the bar. And even the crappiest wines sound good when enunciated in her matchless French accent.
May 27, 2006
127/365 Sophie
A three-time Jeopardy champion, Sophie is sharp: sharp good looks, sharp mind, sharp sense of humor. And a soft side, apparent in her love for her grown daughter and her passion for the extravagantly plumed, colorful birds of the tropics.
May 26, 2006
126/365 Chuck
When my daughter Suzanne drove a race car at 165 mph, Chuck found himself in the situation of acknowledging that despite his owning a Porsche, his girlfriend had driven faster than he. He was admirably gracious about it. (Go, Zannie!!)
May 25, 2006
125/365 Jeanine
I read her first novel and wrote to her: “Thank you for writing the story of my life.” We were born in the same year, and so were our children. We have several stepdaughters. Twenty years later, we still correspond.
May 24, 2006
124/365 Jerome
Jerome once came to my house to tune one recalcitrant piano key before a birthday party. My cats sense his love for them, and stay close, rubbing and purring while he tunes. His wife says no more cats. Not ever.
May 23, 2006
123/365 Jean
I’ve never even seen a photo of this online friend from California. But she helped me choose a sink for my new kitchen. And one day a package arrived (bearing $9.00 in postage) containing eight glowing lemons, home-grown and hand-picked.
May 22, 2006
122/365 Jackie Kennedy
She and I hurried past each other on 57th Street. Scarfed head down, she raised her eyes to meet mine as we passed. I did a burlesque double-take, spinning around to stare behind me. She turned, too—grinning, merry-eyed, knowing.
