Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
99 New: Beloved Friends
As I listened to the priest describe how former Secretary of State James Baker had rubbed President George H.W. Bush’s feet as he neared death, I wondered to myself, do I have someone who would do this for me?
A wife would do this or a husband. But it is a rare friend who would take such care. Do I have such a friend? Would I be such a friend?
Sitting at the end of a pew at the National Cathedral, James Baker leaned forward and sobbed when the priest told this story. His sorrow took up his whole body and he shook for a long moment thinking of the time he spent holding his friend’s feet while his friend was dying.
I will remember this for a long time.
4 Comments on “99 New: Beloved Friends”
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Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect.
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect May 27, 2020
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
The heartfelt tributes to President Bush remind us of a kinder, gentler time….not that long ago.
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This was, I think, the most tear-jerking moment of the funeral for me.
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it gave me chills just to read this. friendship is so precious
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Ksbeth, so true. It’s sad that we often save these tender words for funerals.
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