Up, down and sideways

Above is my dear almost-daughter Dawn and below is the latest plague to hit, blotches on my thighs, both legs, front and back: do I feel a bit like Job? If anyone out there has any idea what this is, let me know. It stumped both my oncologist and dermatologist.

Dear Friends and Family,

I am not sure how long I can keep blogging. It's hard to type correctly, but I will go on as long as I can. It is, after all, the easiest way for me to communicate with my family and friends. Talking can be hard.

Hooray! We survived an earthquake, one strong enough to damage buildings (including the Washington Monument and Washington Catherdral spires). I was lying in bed, Merwin was reading to me, and all at once the bed began to move! No it wasn't Merwin; it was the earthquake. Above me, the hanging x-ray tube swayed back and forth, long after the bed stopped. So on with the TV where we found out the details, which you probably know too.

Florence and David dropped by with a lovely dish of mushrooms. They have been very busy with family, so it is really nice of them to spend some time with us. Thy didn't even notice the earthquake—she was in car and he was banging out music at home.

Dawn came over yesterday with food she had prepared, lovely salmon, salsa, mushrooms. I had a half a piece for supper and the rest for breakfast this morning. I asked her to take me to Caggiano’s. which she did happily. It's an easy place to shop and close to our house. She helped me into the store and then I could push the cart. I got 16 slices of fried eggplant from the deli counter and some other items from the fridge and freezer, about 6 in all. Fast in, fast out, and then I was ready to rest. Dawn helped me pack the eggplant slices for the freezer, and now I feel comfortably well stocked for easy, fast meals. The skirt Dawn is wearing so attractively is one I was happy to give her, one I have had for over 30 years: it's an antique! But on her it looks fresh and new.

This was Merwin's 2nd earthquake, my first. His was in L.A., and from where he was, in a hotel at 5 a.m. he felt the swaying, contacted the desk and asked: was that an earthquake: nonchalant answer: Yeah, probably, we have them all the time. No one else had stirred, so he started his shower. Urgent knocking at the door: Shelley, his partner. Earthquake, buildings down, the phone lines will be clogged. Shelley says that he called the office and told them to phone our wives to tell them "We are all right." So I bounced out of my class at Queens College and into the office to hear, “Bernice, there's a message for you: ‘your husband is all right.‘” My husband is all right! What's wrong?” We had a laugh about that later, but at the time, it was a little scary.

Today, I felt like tackling the Macbeth chapter, especially since Laury was stopping over. I want to make it a smashing lead to the next section. When the New Variorum Macbeth told me that my friend John Payne Collier had discovered the ms. with Simon Forman’s eye-witness account, my antennae went up. Could he? Did he? Laury came by just in time to check the Freemans’ book on Collier to see what they say. Nada. But how can anyone trust Collier about anything?

Funny dialogue: Merwin: let me help you get up the four steps to the bedroom.
Me. OK, push the bottom of my bottom.
He pushes, I rise, singing, “Your love is lifting me higher than I ever have been lifted before . . .
Merwin: stop, you're cracking me up.

And so we have our interludes of fun and games.

More anon,
Love,
Bernice