Hi Kids, how long has it been since you sat on Santa's Lap? If it was last Christmas Season (Oct 15 - January 15), you shouldn't read this. As if Santa's missing sleigh and the scandalous rumors about Rudolph's nose weren't enuf, now we have some serious charges about what Santa's Helpers have been doing in the off-season. It isn't pretty. Oh, well, the friendly fellow in the fake beard and red suit outside the Supermarket, he's fine. He looks MUCH better in his Salvation Arm

What a fine thing to have old friends travel so far for a brief inurnment, especially at age 97. That says more about Ellie's magnetic personality than anything else. Now of course a magnet has two poles, and anyone who knew her close up for any length of time saw Ellie's passionate fits of temper, mainly when people weren't doing things the way they "should" and/or she felt mistreated, and she'd verbally assault the presumed wrongdoer. In my year of daily interaction with h

Fare thee well, Ellie. Time to let go, give it up. I'm so happy your death was peaceful, that you finally accepted the reality, and that you passed on with grace, and without fear. I imagine your spirit will continue to glow as you go toward the light. Love from your family, and a lick from Buster.

.. to accompany you on your way? Check out the play list I've created just for you at googleplay.

No, kids, there's no Bogeyman either. No Santa. No Easter Bunny. No Tooth Fairy. And no Bogeyman under the bed or in the front yard. Well, of course, you knew that; your parents assured you there was no such thing... well, but of course there was that tooth fairy.. I imagine it is a strange world to you, Little One, to comprehend all this fuss and human activity. It is confusing, I know that! Why are so many people afraid of so many things? Ordinary things, like frogs and sp

Ellie was classy, as everyone would attest. Not just the hair and the pearls, but the whole ensemble, the whole package that was her life. This became vivid to me as she and I embarked on what turned out to be about a 3 month project, "decorating the house," meaning somehow assimilating a huge trove of her precious things -- you know, porcelin ducks and a chicken made in Italy, that sort of thing. It took us a couple of weeks just to get all her stuff unpacked. What amazed me

How vivid the natural world was to Ellie! We spent a lot of our quality time together on the back porch, like a tree house in the woods. She'd always comment on the colors of the season-- the yellow green buds on the Poplars and Maples in spring, the dense green of May, the dusty brown of August-- every season, not just the autumn color riot. But it was her child-like enthusiasm for the Cardinal coming to our deck feeders that leaves the lasting imprint on me. I've never seen