In Memorium

As I knew her, my grandmother was an independent woman, who worked well into her seventies. Widowed at an early age, she never remarried and was left to finish raising her children alone. She loved to travel, and was a very giving person. At her funeral, I was touched to see notes to her dead husband that were written just a few years ago, before the dementia set in. I always considered her to be an individual, but I guess that she considered herself still part of a pair.

I wrote this a few days ago, intending to add more, but have decided to just leave it as is.

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February 25, 1960-

It was a cold day. The snow had stopped for a brief minute, and visibility was good. Walter got into his car and rubbed his gloved hands together as he waited for the engine to warm. He briefly pondered what Louise would make for dinner, and headed towards the fire station to meet up with guys for a quick beer on the way home. Working for Western Electric wasn’t the greatest, but it paid the bills. Although his daughter had recently married, he still had three boys at home to provide for.

The snow had started again. He had to concentrate to keep his eyes on the road, rather than being distracted by the swirling flakes tumbling across the windshield. Up ahead to his left, he saw the semi coming. Its headlights were on, and it seemed to be coming on fast. He recognized it as being one of his company’s trucks, and may have noticed the sound of a horn as it started to drift toward his right, crossing into his lane. He may have slammed his brakes, he may have swerved, but there was no avoiding the semi as it hit him head-on.

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July 1, 2006-

She had been exhausted when she went to bed. Last week, or was it last month? Anyway, recently she had been to the hospital. Arlene was there, and a whole bunch of people that she didn’t know. They told her to rest and that there was something wrong with her heart, or was it her kidneys? It didn’t matter. She didn’t feel well, but she wasn’t going to tell them that as they would just take her away again. She just wanted to sleep. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone?

That night, Louise met Walter for dinner.