5 Comments

Objects left to us can be treasures or albatrosses. My mother’s fur coat is a warm hug from her whenever it’s forty below. It saddens me that it is falling apart in its old age. Other objects are just sentimental clutter, stowed away in dark corners for our heirs to deal with because we can’t quite bring ourselves to do so.

Expand full comment

I love to cook at times. My mom left her physical body over two years ago and I was happy to choose some bowls and cookware that she loved. She was a wonderful cook and showed so much love in making our favorite dishes. I happily feel her with me when I use these bowls and pots.

Expand full comment

One thing I like about this essay - and there are several - is your affection for quotidian and well-used objects, not just precious heirlooms. Your father's tattered exercise mat, which probably still had the smell of his sweat, imbued with his DNA.

I'm quite interested in your uncle's book, too!

Expand full comment

This is so lovely and so interesting, too, to get to know you better this way. Objects can have tremendous weight. They can be very hard to deal with. Your uncle Eddie sounds like a guy I would've loved to meet, rather Quixotic in his digust at "growth". Everytime I hear some radio announcer discuss "growing the economy", I want to shout "Like a cancer!" Bravo.

Expand full comment