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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

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Widowed: Life Goes On — And Some of Us Still Like It

December 18, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

life goes on, though this crocosmia-is-dying-back
In California, crocosmias die back in summer, leaving brown leaves that are easy to pull up. Underground, the corms lie dormant, ready to sprout when the rains return. Last summer I decided to replace my crocosmias with something more orderly.

An old family friend called yesterday to see how I was doing. When I say old, I mean old. He’s pushing 102. But for our old family friend, life goes on, 101 birthdays notwithstanding.

This family friend goes way back with us. His name is Dave Nelson, and he is Jon’s godfather. Apparently, now that Jon is gone, Dave has taken it upon himself to look after Jon’s widow. And on this day, he wanted to know how I was doing.

How was I doing? What do you say to a really old guy who wants to know how you are doing?

Dave’s life pleasures are limited right now. At 101, he can’t drive any more. And when he ordered the tomato bisque soup at a fancy restaurant the other day, he was told they’d run out. Also unavailable, the pear salad and the filet steak.

His week had not gone well. Obviously, I needed to think of something cheerful to say.

Is a White Lie in Order?

Cheerful but truthful. Dave had packed on some years. He’d recognize a fib if I floated one.

“I’m doing alright,” I said. “My life is good. But without Jon, the fun has gone out of it.”

“Ah, yes,” he said. “The fun has gone out of it.”

Dave is a widower. But there he was, 101 years old, hankering for a cup of tomato bisque.

Like it or not, life goes on. And our old family friend seems to be liking it. He’d picked up the phone to call me, after all. And if that’s not liking life, what is?

It so happens another life form has caught my attention lately. It’s the lusty crocosmias I planted in our side yard decades ago. At first, it was just a handful of corms in a corner. But by last summer, I had wands of bright orange blossoms wafting the full length of our side yard. Sun, shade, rain, no rain, life went on for the crocosmias. They flourished.

Ruthless in the Garden

Last summer, I set about exterminating them to make way for something more orderly. I instructed the workmen who put in the new stairs to dig them up and toss them out. Be ruthless.

But last month the rains came. Up came the crocosmias. Dozens of them had escaped the workmen’s shovels, and now they were pushing aside the soil amendments the crew had piled on top of them. Some were sidling through the cracks in the new redwood decking.

Life goes on. Not for Jon. But for Dave Nelson and me. Also for those pesky crocosmias, who seem to like it a lot.

More about Dave Nelson at “How to Grieve — A Message From My Mother-in-Law.” It was Dave who broght the decades old message.

life goes on -- as with this crocosmia-sprouting-through-a-deck
I thought I’d gotten rid of the headstrong crocosmias growing in our side yard. But after last month’s rains, some found their way through cracks in our new deck. Photos by Barbara Newhall

Filed Under: My Rocky Spiritual Journey, Widowed

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Comments

  1. Barbara Falconer Newhall says

    February 5, 2022 at 3:03 pm

    Sad news. Dave Nelson passed away a few days ago. This was hard news for me. Another connection to Jon and Jon’s life has been ripped away. How I enjoyed Dave’s phone calls — here was a 101-year-old man finding the wherewithal to make comforting phone calls to me. More about him at https://www.facebook.com/pamela.nelson.munson/posts/10158564451348148

    Reply
  2. Judith Faust says

    January 11, 2022 at 10:03 pm

    Love crocosmias!

    Reply
    • Barbara Falconer Newhall says

      January 12, 2022 at 12:10 pm

      And an envelop of seeds I harvested last summer are on their way to you. Free to a good home!

      Reply
  3. jan says

    December 19, 2021 at 8:17 am

    So true, Barbara –

    Reply
    • Barbara Falconer Newhall says

      December 21, 2021 at 11:23 am

      Yep.

      Reply

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Widowed: Who Will Look After Me Now That Jon Is Gone?

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Jon was the one I could count on for rides to car repair shops and colonoscopies. Who will look after me now?  Read more.

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