Woke up this morning in a panic that when my father dies (I heard yesterday that his cancer has started up again), a last remaining door to history will close forever.
It's like watching an archive burn.
Instead of working alone at home, I thought I'd better take my laptop to Starbucks to be around the buzz of life.
Walked into the coffee shop and saw on the front page of the New York Times good news that made me cry:
www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/us/politics/obama-commutes-bulk-of-chelsea-mannings-sentence.html
"Under the terms of the commutation announced by the White House on Tuesday, Ms. Manning is set to be freed on May 17 of this year rather than in 2045."
(She's served seven years now.)
I wanted to send a photo of myself to my auntie--in the first set (right) I looked so sad, I had to take a fake happy one (left).
Anyway...
I haven't been to see my dad since a year+ ago, when I stayed too long. Short visits are best. I wrote saying I'd pop down* for lunch, if he liked, when I finish my ms. in about a month.
He wrote back saying he'd love that.
Sometimes we have a nice time together. Here, he dropped in for a quick Christmas visit in 2013. You can see, we are rather alike!
I posted a few historic photos from his life, on his 80th birthday in 2011.
* "pop down" = 6 hours on the Greyhound. Flying would cost 10x as much and only save half the time, since you have to arrive at the airport 2 hours before your flight to get through security.
It's like watching an archive burn.
Instead of working alone at home, I thought I'd better take my laptop to Starbucks to be around the buzz of life.
Walked into the coffee shop and saw on the front page of the New York Times good news that made me cry:
www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/us/politics/obama-commutes-bulk-of-chelsea-mannings-sentence.html
"Under the terms of the commutation announced by the White House on Tuesday, Ms. Manning is set to be freed on May 17 of this year rather than in 2045."
(She's served seven years now.)
I wanted to send a photo of myself to my auntie--in the first set (right) I looked so sad, I had to take a fake happy one (left).
Anyway...
I haven't been to see my dad since a year+ ago, when I stayed too long. Short visits are best. I wrote saying I'd pop down* for lunch, if he liked, when I finish my ms. in about a month.
He wrote back saying he'd love that.
Sometimes we have a nice time together. Here, he dropped in for a quick Christmas visit in 2013. You can see, we are rather alike!
I posted a few historic photos from his life, on his 80th birthday in 2011.
* "pop down" = 6 hours on the Greyhound. Flying would cost 10x as much and only save half the time, since you have to arrive at the airport 2 hours before your flight to get through security.
Wish you a train!
ReplyDeleteNobody needs more tsuris. Sending good thoughts your way.
ReplyDeleteSparker: Alas, the train would drop me off 30 miles outside of town--I don't know if my father will be up for driving so far to pick me up (and I don't drive).
ReplyDeleteMichael: Thank you.
(Luckily my father's cancer is tiring but not painful, so there's that.)