ad astra

iris' birthday was the 22nd and cousin carol's three days later, both people i miss more than any other who have left the scene to date --- bob and i weren't terribly close, mainly because i found him a little fearsome when i first met him in athens, probably in 1972, but we had a lot of friends in common and i soon found out what an excellent person he was --- it was always good to run into him on the belt line or in the botanical garden or wherever --- he died yesterday, and his passing congealed the melancholy of the last few days ---

so i spent a couple of hours this morning walking and thinking about dead friends