I Leave In Ten Days
One year ago, I visited my daughter in Ashville, NC, and we went to the Biltmore where I walked the hallways in the basement and happened upon this lonely tree, illuminated by light coming from somewhere I could not see. I never could have imagined then what I would be doing twelve months later. In ten days, I leave for Saipan. Yes, I was there all summer, but it just didn't seem like quite enough time to get to know the place. So, I am going back. And I am going back small. By that I mean I have donated all my worldly goods, except for five boxes of memories my family needs to pass the torch of our family history to the next generation of storytellers, and three suitcases of things I think I need, clothes, books, an Isabel Bloom mourning dove my friends gave me after Larry died, and a pendulum clock I bought in Germany. I also mailed myself several flat-rate boxes of more books, the ones too heavy for a suitcase. Why so many books? I like books. But more than that, most...