12/30/15 RMB Gentle Presence

12/30/15 RMB Gentle Presence

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

She told me to watch the movie Learning to Drive. And I will. And when I do, I will remember her. She was a colleague with a gentle presence, a true professional with a sense of humor that was sharp and witty.

We go about our days, our work, looking into each day with the expectation of some semblance of what transpired the day before. Schedules are kept. Programs run their course. We move forward unaware of our own shortsightedness, until the unexpected transpires.

When a family member calls and informs you that the person who sat beside you, who shared an occasional evening stroll or trip to the theater, will not be there…ever again. Time stops. The mind races backwards to catch a glimpse of the face you remember, to hear the last conversation, her laughter, and to see that smile, the one that will not be greeting you again in this lifetime.

The call came this afternoon. Dian Hughes, the accounting dynamo who appeared quarter after quarter, year after year to run our numbers, to dot and cross our numerical i’s and t’s will not be coming this quarter. She has passed on to the next leg of her journey.

She was too young, too alive, too wise, to leave so early. She will be missed. We were blessed by her grace and kindness. It is ours still, her gift to us. And she is with us even now, in a new light from a new plateau, and as kind as ever.

Remembering her smile,

Loraine

12/24/15 RMB Christmas Eve 2015

12/24/15 RMB Christmas Eve 2015   

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

I walked up to a clerk in a pharmacy chain store shortly after four this evening. “What time do you close?”

He said, “We don’t. We’re open 24 hours.”

I was surprised and that gave him a touch of pride, for having surprised me, or for being one of those stores that defies the holiday, or for having a job and work to do that pulls one away, even from a holiday such as this. I’m not sure which.

By the time I walked away, we made eye contact, acknowledging to one another that this 24 hours is a bit different than most.

The holidays stir us, mix us together for festivities, and make strangers kinder. Emotions tumble about. Old friends reconnect. Family is family, by blood or friendship or choice, or all of the above, the music remains the same, the music of the heart.

Happy Holidays,

Loraine

12/12/15 RMB Holiday Magic

12/12/15 RMB Holiday Magic

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

The holiday season has brought a chill to sunny Southern California. The scent of fires burning in fireplaces and warming hearths fills the evening air. Snow touches down on the mountain tops.

White snowflakes swirl around dancing penguins with snowmen, Christmas trees and red poinsettias painted on most storefronts. Everything is on sale, or so it seems.

Relatives visit and others call, sending good cheer. Magic is plentiful this time of year, in smiles and hugs, glances and nods. The falling rain sparkles, reflecting colorful lights around rooftops.

Memories are made. Traditions are upheld, or challenged.

The pessimist in me wonders if all this wintertime togetherness was started simply to help us stay warm, and fed too, by shared meals.

It works. The magic, known by many names, warms the heart all the same and fills the soul, well fed indeed.

Good cheer to all and to all a goodnight,

Loraine