Isms: Views on life in rural America

I’ve been in a bit of a funk this past week. After a meditation session, some of the reasons became clear.

This Friday would be Mom’s 87th birthday. If she were earth-side, we’d have Italian food - either lasagna or pizza - and wine, even if it meant a bottle of inexpensive “FWP,” or fine wine product, like her sisters refer to it.

In April, she will have been gone 10 years. It seems like yesterday I held her hand as she slipped away, taking her last breath.

A second reason for the blues: I need knee replacement surgery, probably sooner than expected. While my pain tolerance is fairly high, if...