Fall \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Harvest Moon<\/p>\n
“I can not image being in Bill’s shoes tonight – trying to accept the finality of her (Regina’s) death and the terrible silence that must be filling the space with the passing of his lover.” \u00a0 \u00a0Stefan Helgeson by e-mail<\/p>\n
Stefan is a poet and a good one. \u00a0His phrase, terrible silence, stuck with me, rattled around. Death causes our friends and lovers to go mute. \u00a0They can no longer respond to us. \u00a0No more tenderness exchanged at bed time. \u00a0No more joint decision making. \u00a0No more grocery lists. \u00a0Just. \u00a0Terrible silence.<\/p>\n
This is true and it lasts. \u00a0My mother has been deaf to my questions and care for now over 48 years, longer than she was alive. \u00a0Death is final and final in a brutal way. \u00a0It brooks no second chances, no wait a minutes. \u00a0It finishes what life has wrought.<\/p>\n
Then we are left with memory. \u00a0It is no wonder the ancient Greeks, those of Homer’s era, believed true immortality came only through the poet. \u00a0The poet could provide aid to memory, verses hammered out in a form for easy recall. \u00a0The poet chose the words and the perspective through which an individual, from Achilles to Paris, would be remembered for all time. \u00a0This alone bestowed immortality.<\/p>\n
We have more tools. \u00a0Cameras. \u00a0Voice recordings. \u00a0Easily available pen, ink, paper. \u00a0Computers and digital storage. \u00a0But, I don’t know that we have better tools. \u00a0Though a picture may be worth a thousand words, it doesn’t mean as much as a thousand well-chosen words.<\/p>\n
So, for all of you who read this and knew Regina, write. \u00a0Write about her. \u00a0She wrote. \u00a0Now take up the pen and write. \u00a0In this way Regina can live for a thousand years.<\/p>\n
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Fall \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Harvest Moon “I can not image being in Bill’s shoes tonight – trying to accept the finality of her (Regina’s) … Continue reading The Terrible Silence<\/span>