Category Archives: A Suitable Memorial

Set in Concrete

Dearest Rachel – So yesterday was our last day of actual work. Today, we’ll be on what they refer to as an ‘adventure day’; another nod to the ‘volun-tourism’ concept we discussed the other day. But with my work as an educator over with, this last day was spent doing manual labor – which, toContinue reading “Set in Concrete”

They Still Remember You

Dearest Rachel – Yesterday was my first day back at the ‘office’ in a while; when Friday is taken up by a walk in the woods, and Monday is a national holiday, suddenly the weekend doubles in size (setting aside the fact that any day could be considered a weekend if I so chose to).Continue reading “They Still Remember You”

No Right to BE Happy

Dearest Rachel – One of the things about my news feed is that it has a certain bent (some would call it a ‘bias’) to it. Whereas so many major outlets claim the mantle of objectivity and impartiality (a cloak so obviously ill-fitting as to be utterly laughable, when you compare how they treat oneContinue reading “No Right to BE Happy”

Maybe We Don’t WANT Closure

Dearest Rachel – Happy fifty-fifth birthday, honey. This is it; the day we set you adrift the way you wanted to be. This is why we’re here – right down to why we’ve waited so long – we wanted to make sure your closest friends were here to share this moment. Given how long it’sContinue reading “Maybe We Don’t WANT Closure”

What Has Changed?

Dearest Rachel – Part of me can’t believe it’s been eighteen years since you took this footage as we scoped out the cottage you used to refer to as “Miz Fay’s place” back when your family were still staying at the Bretz cottages a short wade further north. Another part of me can’t believe I’mContinue reading “What Has Changed?”

The Long Way Around – a Visit to South Bass

Dearest Rachel – We had fully intended to make a stop in Put-in-Bay while we were on the island this time around; while your parents rarely bothered to venture over there (their priorities leaned into the fishing aspect of island life, after all) it was pretty much de rigeur for the three of us after a while,Continue reading “The Long Way Around – a Visit to South Bass”

The Part You Used to Play

Dearest Rachel – So, yesterday was Mothers’ Day; the real one, not the early one we observed last week in order to celebrate with my mom, since we were going to be on the island this week.  And with that having been said, I should mention that we made a point to head to theContinue reading “The Part You Used to Play”

A Sense of Wrongness

Dearest Rachel – Morning on the island, and the house is silent.  I’ve slept well, if somewhat layered up (we had to turn on the heater when we first got here, and it’s particularly chilly this morning, still (albeit only in the florida room in the back of the house). Did I say the houseContinue reading “A Sense of Wrongness”

One Final Trip (part five) Beyond Our Control

Dearest Rachel – We were just across the Indiana state line, and filling up the tank after what seemed like a couple of hours in Chicago traffic when the word came from Kerstin. After weeks – perhaps even months – of asking her (relatively new) boss for the time off, only to get either aContinue reading “One Final Trip (part five) Beyond Our Control”

One Final Trip (part four)

Dearest Rachel – It’s annoying to get reminders of things you need to do at the most inappropriate and inconvenient times. I spent Sunday morning in the audio-visual booth, listening to a sermon entitled ‘Roadtrip’ (about the conversation on the road to Emmaus – it was the week right after Easter, you understand), and foundContinue reading “One Final Trip (part four)”

Leaving You Behind (by Accident)

Dearest Rachel – It’s probably that much worse to be having to admit this to you on an anniversary date – in this case, the fifty-first month since your departure – but this is the way things happen (to say nothing of the timing of my finding out). Considering where it happened, it could atContinue reading “Leaving You Behind (by Accident)”

One Final Trip (part 3)

Dearest Rachel – Now that the busyness of the Easter weekend is in the rear view mirror, I have to get on with things regarding our (and I do mean our; you’re coming along with. In fact, you’re the reason we’re even doing this, after all) trip to the island. I’ve gotten a confirmation fromContinue reading “One Final Trip (part 3)”

Eggshell Anniversary

Dearest Rachel – The other day, when Lars called to arrange a day on which we might meet to walk this week – despite the fact that we’ll be heading out of town together this weekend, and will have plenty of time to walk, be it through airports, over beaches or from one end ofContinue reading “Eggshell Anniversary”

The Best We Can Do

Dearest Rachel – Obviously, from my side of the veil, I have no idea how you perceive time and events on this side anymore – assuming you could, or even would want to. There are those who claim that you and everybody else are asleep until the day the trumpet sounds, and we will allContinue reading “The Best We Can Do”

For the Rough Men

Dearest Rachel – Some days – rather a lot of days, come to think of it – I have difficulty coming up with something to write you about, apart from the events of the day, which, unless I’m doing something extraordinary (such as during the last three months), aren’t generally the sort of things proverbiallyContinue reading “For the Rough Men”

Declaring You

Dearest Rachel – I know I was just telling you the other day about the hoops I had to jump through whenever I got off the ship in Indonesia. Not that they were particularly inconvenient, mind you; it was just that the instructions themselves weren’t complete, as far as I could understand them. But asContinue reading “Declaring You”

Not What I Expected

Dearest Rachel – After nearly a week at sea, I wake up this morning and grab my phones, only to realize that they don’t agree anymore. The old, shattered one is still working on Hawaii time, while my actual phone has just now updated itself to be presumably in line with the local time. WhyContinue reading “Not What I Expected”

To Commemorate the Year Gone By

Dearest Rachel – It’s been three years now.  You’d think I would know how to deal with these anniversaries by now, but I don’t. And I wonder if I ever will. At this point, it’s gotten to where I’m treating the moment as if it were a second New Year’s, a time to reflect on theContinue reading “To Commemorate the Year Gone By”

Of Salt Cellars and Selfie Sticks

Dearest Rachel – I realize I’m not the easiest person to shop for, in terms of Christmas presents. It’s even worse when I come up with ideas that are either too late or too esoteric (or both) to hunt down in time. But sometimes, that’s what happens; I come up with an idea long after I should,Continue reading “Of Salt Cellars and Selfie Sticks”

Jealous Of Your Ghost

Dearest Rachel – I’ve been showing your ring around to certain people lately (in fairness, I’m not sure that photographs, despite being able to show it at a magnified level, can do the image justice, so as many as can see it in person, the better). Most of them are reasonably impressed by it, butContinue reading “Jealous Of Your Ghost”

For All the Money in the World

Dearest Rachel – I’m not sure what you’re likely to make of this letter; the topic isn’t exactly one of the most interesting to discuss (although it’s certainly one that might come up from time to time between a married couple, I suppose, just like any major expenditure). I’ll try to make it reasonably engaging,Continue reading “For All the Money in the World”

Holding My Hand Again

Dearest Rachel – It’s turning into a rather busy day, despite the fact that I took the day off from the ‘office.’ To be sure, the reasons I did would provide fodder for two whole other letters already. The first, of course, being the fact that we were to sat one final goodbye to Kevin,Continue reading “Holding My Hand Again”

The Final Return

Dearest Rachel – He’s about a month late from his usual schedule, but it would seem that Kevin has made one last trip back up here. This time, however, is not for a visit, but to stay here permanently. The thing is, he was a native son of the area, growing up in the DesContinue reading “The Final Return”

つづく (To Be Continued)

Dearest Rachel – Well, honey, I did say I was going to have to continue the story I began telling you about on Tuesday, as I wasn’t able to get you over to the jewelers’ that day. It’s a fairly short story, though – at least, for now. But first, I think I need toContinue reading “つづく (To Be Continued)”

So Out of Character For You

Dearest Rachel – I was going to start this letter off by talking about how, thirty-one years ago today, we were preparing to pack up and head back from our honeymoon. The folks from the diamond-making place referred to this trip as your ‘homecoming,’ you see, and it seemed appropriate to juxtapose today with anContinue reading “So Out of Character For You”

A Few More Drops Into the Deeps

Dearest Rachel – I’m sure you’d heard the phrases ‘dark web’ and ‘deep web’ from time to time before your departure; after all, you had majored in the computer sciences and we as a family tended to be more online than most people I know. Equally likely, you’d probably heard tell that those two concepts,Continue reading “A Few More Drops Into the Deeps”

Asking the Artist

Dearest Rachel – So another thing that went on yesterday that I just didn’t have time to cover (because other things came up – I’m sure you can understand). Regardless of the fact that I’m not ‘meeting’ anyone at the convention this year (not that this is really any different than last year, to beContinue reading “Asking the Artist”

One Final Trip (part 2)

Dearest Rachel – So, it’s finally settled between the girls and me. You’ll be laid to rest, as per your wishes, on your 55th birthday. After all the wrangling about scheduling and the like, we’ve come to an approximate date far enough in the future for all of us to keep those schedules of oursContinue reading “One Final Trip (part 2)”

Lost in Transit

Dearest Rachel – Since I’m well aware that I’m both quite impatient and forgetful, I try to use those flaws of mine in tandem to offset each other. For any long-term plan or project – especially one with a set date (like travel plans) or requiring others’ contributions – I do my part, set theContinue reading “Lost in Transit”

Bad Apples

Dearest Rachel – In the game of Cards Against Humanity that we used to enjoy playing together in large groups, there is a black card that reads “________: Awesome in theory, kind of a mess in practice,” to which the players submit their best white cards with one outlandish concept or another. The point, ofContinue reading “Bad Apples”

Other People’s Stories

Dearest Rachel – Ever since I mentioned the possibility of turning recordings of your voice into future conversation (and bemoaned the fact that I have more of Mohinder’s voice than yours), I’ve been reminded of recordings we’d planned – but never got the chance – to make. When Daniel was making plans to enroll atContinue reading “Other People’s Stories”

A Look at Younger You

Dearest Rachel – Since I’m insistent on being home when Kris is coming in to clean the house – not to supervise her, mind you (indeed, between eating breakfast, brushing my teeth and doing several loads of laundry as she’s trying to make her way through each room in the house, I worry that IContinue reading “A Look at Younger You”

What You Get Out of It

Dearest Rachel – Even the most inspirational saying can be rendered ridiculous with the wrong (or, if you’re a comedian, the right) preface. Life is like a sewer; what you get out of it depends on what you put into it Tom Lehrer Such was what’s been going through my mind as I’ve been experimentingContinue reading “What You Get Out of It”

A Hundred Blurry Photographs

Dearest Rachel – There’s a certain joy in having a project that feels like I could really make something out of it for a change. After having my plans for a YouTube channel derailed, first by a lack of talent (both my own and trying to recruit skilled assistance) and then by outside events (includingContinue reading “A Hundred Blurry Photographs”

Opened A Little Early

Dearest Rachel – It seems a bit inappropriate to make such a comparison, especially considering that it involves you – the idea of thinking of a person as a toy or plaything, when expressed in that way, seems repugnant – but I feel like a kid who has just gotten the chance to open oneContinue reading “Opened A Little Early”

A Million Words With You

Dearest Rachel – When I first started writing to you after your departure, I wondered how long it would take to get to this point. Well, that’s not entirely true. Originally, it hadn’t crossed my mind to try to actually send you a letter every day – I was thinking of trying to tell yourContinue reading “A Million Words With You”

Oh, The Places You’d Gone!

Dearest Rachel – Earlier last week, I swapped out the quilt I’d been using on our bed for the last few months, since the rest of them arrived just in time for Daniel’s birthday (which was particularly fortuitous, since his quilt was among those returned by the company assembling them) – not to mention theContinue reading “Oh, The Places You’d Gone!”

Too Much Like an Angel

Dearest Rachel – Late last week, I received a rather large envelope in the mail from a location that didn’t register with me. To be sure, most mail that arrives comes from such locations; even the bills that I process regularly come from addresses that I forget from month to month – the only reasonContinue reading “Too Much Like an Angel”

Would That It Had Meant Something

Dearest Rachel – This isn’t the day for me to be dwelling on having lost you – at least, no more than any other day. There are others who are supposed to be honored today, none of whom I know –or rather, have known – personally. It’s only recently that the difference between today andContinue reading “Would That It Had Meant Something”

Keep Me Warm ’Til Then

Dearest Rachel – So, I was going to tell you about this yesterday, but I got distracted by the events of the day. Somehow, Resurrection Sunday seemed more important to talk about than my latest acquisition. I think you’d be fine with the delay. Besides, I’d gotten the notice from UPS on Friday that itContinue reading “Keep Me Warm ’Til Then”

One Last Laundry

Dearest Rachel – They’ve been sitting around in the folks’ basement, and I’ve been meaning to do something about it them for some time. But every time I think about it, I’m away from my computer, and by the time I come back to the computer, it’s completely slipped my mind all over again. ButContinue reading “One Last Laundry”

The Unboxing… and Reboxing

Dearest Rachel – Admittedly, it sounds like one of those things from ‘Scenes From A Hat’ on Whose Line Is It, Anyway? But hey, here goes… “Hi, and welcome to my unboxing video!” Yeah, it sounds wrong in that context, doesn’t it? But here we are. I’ve gotten, supposedly, a kit for me to collectContinue reading “The Unboxing… and Reboxing”

A Little Piece of You

Dearest Rachel – Good friends will help you move; Great friends will help you move bodies. I suppose this means that my sister Jenn and Lars could be considered to be great friends. Now Jenn, as counterintuitive as it might be, should not come as any great surprise. Yes, as siblings, we were – andContinue reading “A Little Piece of You”

Diamonds and Ash

Dearest Rachel – I would say “I wish you had been there” for this year’s Mother’s Day sermon, but when I am always wishing you were here as it is, it really doesn’t carry the weight that I mean for it to. The thing is, as a general rule, we don’t really have a sermonContinue reading “Diamonds and Ash”