1. I had what I think of as a Body of Christ relationship with Rosemary Batori. We worshiped at St. Mary's. I was always aware of her presence and her gravitas. We were never friends. But being members of the church and joined together in the Body of Christ bonded us. On Thanksgiving Day, at age 99, Rosemary died and her funeral was today. It was all things: solemn, full of laughter, mournful, uplifting, reassuring. Rosemary was a spiritual and a political force both locally and nationally, both in the Episcopal Church and the Democratic Party, blessed with a keen sense of humor as well as fearless expression of her convictions. The funeral paid tribute to as many dimensions of her as is possible in just over an hour. It was beautiful.
2. After the funeral, the Deke and I met at the High Street cafe. Yes, I loved the happy hour cheeseburger and order of fries and the Hammerhead beer. But, I closed our time together with a Lock-Out Porter and it was a big, bold, dark surprise. I couldn't stop uttering, almost reverently, "God, this is good beer."
3. The Deke knew several people at the Christmas party we attended this evening because they are parents of kids she teaches or has taught. There were some other connections as well. I knew nobody. This is my least favorite situation to be in. But, it was fun talking to this German guy who came to the USA in 1964 at the age of 18 to work at the New York World's Fair in Flushing and I enjoyed his stories about being young and in New York City and how he eventually married and settled, of all places, in Oregon.
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