None of us really understood that things were changing
for Florence. She seemed as she always
had been.
Teaching cooking walking arguing fuming eating
investigating practicing devouring life intrepidly…sallying forth into the
world as the force of nature that she was.
The rare cracks were easy to ignore. More often than not they looked like the
mishaps and mistakes we all make.
Until suddenly…
This was the first crack I wanted to ignore.
On the corner of 6th Street and Avenue A. Heading home after teaching a piano
student. Between her and the curb a pile
of snow dumped high from the recent storm.
Suddenly she couldn't traverse it. Suddenly she didn't
know what to do.
Suddenly she was old.
And then suddenly some young men came up behind her,
picked her up, carried her over the mound and gently placed her on solid
sidewalk before vanishing into the crowd.
Telling me this on the phone after, she laughed and laughed and
laughed about it because the joy of that sudden flight erased the sudden
reality she could not longer climb her own mountains.
7 comments:
Well done those guys. Chivalry is not quite dead.
Regards, Cro.
yes indeed! and thank you for your visit. The description of your life in your blog is a fantasy of mine - along with being 4 inches taller, 30 pounds thinner and a super model. Truly enjoyed the visit and will link.
Reminds me of my step-father and, in turn, of his mother. There are those moments when you know a line has been crossed and there's no going back.
Well written, very nice post.
Lisa
Thank you Lisa, and yes Goggla, you're so right. that line. I just kept moving it because I couldn't believe it had been crossed. Took a long time and massive changes and even then I kept thinking something would reverse.
CO - Nice post. Thankfully my own mother, after a tough life and 72 years, is still going strong, but I'm waiting for that line to be crossed. I've seen it with other people - that line that seems inocuous at the time, but in retrospect you realize was important.
T.
My Grandmother was about 4 feet 9 inches tall and every time she would board the bus someone would lift her up to the first step--this was way back in the day before the new buses with their hydraulic lifts. She would get around--if not by bus then by walking.
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