Loose Strife

For years, Laura had two 4×6 photos taped to a wall. They were two eyes of her left and my right eye. I saw it on the wall again recently and it struck me that the way that Laura saw the world, what she thought was interesting, and how she captured it were deeply a […]

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Here are two more noteworthy films from our town’s film festival. This first film, “It Can Happen“, is arguably the best short in the festival, but it didn’t win any awards. If you’ve seen the movie Mamma Mia you’ll better understand the next film, but that’s not too important. Lily and Naomi didn’t make it […]

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Here’s the winning entry from the 2009 Ashfield FilmFest. Naomi makes a cameo at the very end. Lily is in there, too, for a split second, but she’s even harder to spot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtXPiXbgJBk The audience choice award was a hundred or more women and girls dancing through town to Abba’s “Dancing Queen”. Maybe some day […]

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Today I turned 40. Nineteen years ago I had another milestone birthday. I was in college, dating Laura, and she made me a birthday mix tape — something that seemed to be required in those days. I can remember spending hours trying to cue up my cassette to start at just the right time, to […]

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Last September Laura participated in the Komen Run for the Cure in Boston just a few weeks before she died. This year Heather, Elena, and the rest of Laura’s siblings and parents will be walking in the Komen Race in Washington, D.C. on June 6. Consider supporting them as they remember Laura and raise money […]

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Laura’s bench marker was placed yesterday. I found the quote among some clippings that Laura had saved. It was written by Rossiter Raymond around the turn of the 20th century. I went to see it for the first time at the cemetery today as did the girls and Joe and Natalie. It was very moving […]

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During the last week of April and the first week of May I’ll be hand digging about 350 holes, weather permitting, for new plantings. If anyone is interested to join Joe and me, I’ll repay you in fruit some day. Send me an email, if you’re interested.

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I was pleasantly surprised to find an article in the Hampshire Gazette yesterday about Laura and the library memorial for her. Thanks to everyone who contributed and helped make this happen. Around Florence: Story hour honors local woman lost to breast cancer by Laurie Loisel Shortly after Children’s Librarian Kim Perez launched a story hour […]

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Hi, this is Laura’s little sister, Elena, writing. Many times in the last (almost) six months, I have wanted to write here to tell everyone “thank you” for their generous support and love for David, the girls and our family. We were all so blessed to have many friends and family at Laura’s funeral Mass […]

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I remember well living in our little bungalow in Berkeley ten years ago and playing a live version of Mercedes Sosa singing “Gracias a la Vida.” Neither Laura nor I really understood much of the lyrics except for the title and a word here or there, but if ever there was an example of the […]

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