Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Tag: death
A Passing
You can know someone for five minutes. But if it’s the right five minutes, you are connected to that person forever. Maybe it’s the man who got stuck in the elevator with you. Or the woman in the next bed over in the days… Continue Reading “A Passing”
Bringing the Box
“I don’t want to go all the way to Chicago with your dad in a box on my lap.” “Where am I supposed to put him? If I put him in the trunk, the box could tip over. Just hold him, it’s not that… Continue Reading “Bringing the Box”
Shopping Trip
So Walmart is selling caskets. Why would they not? When I was growing up, the monthly magazine Chain Store Age sat on our coffee table. Chain Store Age had articles about all the latest merchandising cons. My dad taught me to love a good… Continue Reading “Shopping Trip”
This Life Next Life
Our place on Lake Superior is home to many creatures, some of them dead. One early spring, we came across a deer’s head lying on the beach. In the dead of winter, we’ve watched a fox and a coyote play hide and seek in the… Continue Reading “This Life Next Life”
#17/100: Easing the Sting
I’m glad Sting didn’t have a chance to talk to my dad before he died. He would have really queered my deal. Sting announced today that he wouldn’t be leaving his $300 million to his six children but intended to spend it instead; he… Continue Reading “#17/100: Easing the Sting”
When Your Father Dies
When your father dies, you will be at a loss for words. If it’s a surprise, you will burst into tears. You will cover your face with your hands and cry like you were six-years old, like the time you got lost on the… Continue Reading “When Your Father Dies”
Not Now, but Then
Every couple of years after he was the cause of the break-up of my first marriage, Hal would show up at my front door with a bottle of Scotch which I didn’t drink and then try to ingratiate himself into my life as my… Continue Reading “Not Now, but Then”
How Sad Do I Want Them to Be?
Wearing black for a year is a quaint custom but that’s what I think my husband should do when I die. I think he should wear black, eschew festive occasions, and only watch black and white TV, just the network stations, no cable, for… Continue Reading “How Sad Do I Want Them to Be?”
Beating it Back with a Stick
I held the handle of my umbrella under my chin so I wouldn’t get soaked pushing the grocery cart to my car. It should rain today, I thought. It should rain on days people die and on the days after. Or maybe what someone… Continue Reading “Beating it Back with a Stick”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
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