My former colleague, who retired several years ago, died on the 16th. I haven’t found an obituary or any information about her death online, but she was probably only 70 or 71.
I only saw her once since her last day of work, but she didn’t see me. She was walking on MLK Blvd., wearing a guinea fowl print dress and one of her spectacular headcovers, which she certainly sewed herself. I’d just returned from South Africa and I’d seen guineas everywhere. She wore that same dress to work a few times — always for a special occasion — but I never knew what the birds were.
I was in my car and couldn’t honk or call out to her; that would have frightened her. Nor did I ever contact her after she retired. I don’t think anyone who worked with her did. So I hope she had some friends or family to spend time with in the few years she had since retirement. Seeing her in that dress makes me think she did.
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Meanwhile, since my last post, my father-in-law was diagnosed with terminal cancer. We went to visit him this past week — he’s staying in the basement at one of my sisters-in-law near Milwaukee. He’s a tough Finlander, who moved to America as a boy and took over the family farm at 12 when his dad died. As an adult he worked as a meat cutter.
We also visited another sister-in-law, hospitalized for a second spinal/neck surgery, but she’s doing well now. As you can imagine, it was a tough trip, divided between the two.
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