Conversations

I cannot rest today so I pick a pile of Colby’s stuff and begin to go through it. At the center I find a briefcase and inside it must be every newspaper clipping his grandmother ever sent him. He and she had a special connection, a special bond. Both loved to discuss politics, religion, history, art, social sciences and news of the day. These are subjects I am not particularly interested in, at least not at the level they were, and I remember that while I lost my only child, my mother lost her only grandchild. Who, now, will discuss these things with her? Who will call her with an insightful comment on our national leaders? Who will talk with her about daily life in medieval times, Greek and Roman mythology, the shortage of water in Kenya, Beethoven’s mistresses, three legged frogs, fossils, satirical cartoons, the many uses of borax, Native American traditions, English literature, algae, our nation’s aging roads and bridges, and the many other things they discussed in depth?

I realize I must make an effort to fill the gap, but that means developing a working knowledge of all of the above, and more, and I am already so very overwhelmed. But I will do this. My mother is important to me. She is the last of my family and deserves these intellectual conversations that mean so much to her. I already call her several times a day, but now I will call freshly prepped with a topic and the Internet close at hand. If I can't be knowledgeable about the subjects, maybe I can at least pull up some interesting facts to share with her.