Do I believe in the concept of best friends? Of course I do! See below:
Al and Nic: Goofing off.
We’re 98% the same person. She’s my best friend, my sister from another mother, my platonic other half. Nic is one of the handful of things that makes life precious, and worth living.
“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”-A.A. Milne
“Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit.”-Anton Chekhov
Playwright and short story genius Anton Chekhov and actress Olga Knipper had a short, independent, mostly long-distance marriage. It began with a low-key, very private wedding in May 1901, and ended with Chekhov’s tragic death three years later. Neither career was sacrificed to the traditional dictates of matrimony.
“Give me a wife who, like the moon, won’t appear in my sky every day.”-Anton Chekhov
“And what does it mean–dying? Perhaps man has a hundred senses, and only the five we know are lost at death, while the other ninety-five remain alive.”-Anton Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard
“In all the universe nothing remains permanent and unchanged but the spirit.”-Anton Chekhov, The Seagull
Anton Chekhov died on 15 July 1904, with his wife by his side. Olga Knipper outlived her husband by nearly fifty-five years.
“One lives in the hope of becoming a memory.”-Antonio Porchia
To Absent Friends: This past Thursday, 5th June, would have been my father-in-law’s 87th birthday.
Sweetface
“Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell.”-Emily Dickinson
I do not celebrate Valentine’s Day, but I wanted to give a shout out to all of my dear readers! You consistently show this blog (and its humble creator) so much love that I could not possibly let the 14th of February evaporate without some kind of acknowledgment. This is for you:
Valentine’s Day Image, circa 1910.
“I am sorry for stealing your fancy cupcakes, Momma. I promise I won’t do it again!”
Cupcake Thief
Our wedding ceremony was cobbled together with rock and roll and bagpipes and honest poetry, love and tears; there were no vows, except to bluntly say, “I do.” If the act of marriage itself is not promise enough, then an oath is meaningless armor against the inevitable.
Bells Are Ringing
I DO NOT LOVE YOU EXCEPT BECAUSE I LOVE YOU BY PABLO NERUDA
The Chef and I are somewhere on this spectrum of cute coupledom:
Guarding the remote, just like his (human) papa…
Duncan with the Remote Control
“The dog has seldom been successful in pulling man up to its level of sagacity, but man has frequently dragged the dog down to his.”-James Thurber
Detail of a painting of my Grandpa, 1946. He was 19.
My Grandpa, 1946.
Duncan in his favourite chair
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 