à la carte spirit by ilona fried
father’s day
For My Father’s 90th, Musings on Love and Loss
My father would have turned 90 on June 15. A few months after he died in 2003, I discovered this photograph of him from 1949 or 1950. He’s 19 or 20, posing in a beret, wool coat and tailored pants. His shoes gleam. His wide stance suggests confidence. His sly grin hints that he’d just … Continue reading
Swimming to Celebrate
Yesterday at 7:16 a.m. I waded into the local reservoir with Boulder Aquatic Masters. It organizes private swims before the main beach opens: without motorboats and crowds, the area is relatively silent, the water calm. At that hour, the air is still cool. It’s a bit like being on a watery Camino de Santiago: instead … Continue reading
For My Father
My father would have turned 82 a few days ago. His birthday always fell around Father’s Day which, if the grief is circling back around, can make this time of year doubly difficult. Ours was not the easiest of relationships, and his was not a “Hallmark” passing. Much was left unsaid at the time of … Continue reading
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