Dear Daddy

As I grew up, you fostered in me the idea that I could do anything I made up my mind to accomplish. Your encouragement has always been a constant in my life. And your appreciation for the arts has become my mainstay, upon which my very identify depends.

Last Saturday, I went to dance class, like every Saturday. And just like every Saturday, my 91 year old dance teacher gave me what for. After an hour and a half of screaming, "legs higher!", "you have to feel it!" and "you're doing it wrong!", that very same dance teacher smiled broadly and asked us, her pupils, to morning tea. That day was special for another reason as well; on that day, we had the pleasure of being accompanied by our distinguished pianist Eli, whose 60-year career is far from over.

As we sat around the table at a nearby cafe, munching on scones and sipping flat whites, Eli informed us that he would be going to school in London for the summer. That is when he looked me square in the face, slapped the table and said, "Never stop learning. If you do, you'll go straight to the grave!". After which my dance teacher leaned over and took a bite of the banana my friend had been eating. "When you're old", she said with a wink, "you can do anything you want". I don't think she meant that you can get away with anything. She meant that in her ripe old age, more than ever before, anything is possible.

I am inspired by the wisdom of these friends who have lived long and full lives. But they have not stopped living those lives, either.

And I will continue to be inspired by you, Daddy. Thank you for finding the dignity in growing older, and setting an example for your daughters. And for never letting go of the passions you have always had. I hope I can follow in your footsteps.

DUN -> NYC

Sitting alone, thousands of kilometers away from home, in Dunedin, New Zealand, listening to National Public Radio.

10 years ago, my sister, my mom, and I sat around the kitchen table, listening to National Public Radio. We were eating a rushed breakfast on just another school morning, when everything stood still. We didn't have television. I didn't see footage of the towers until much later.

Listening now, I am overwhelmed with memories. Tears streaming. Friends and family so far away, I wish I could be with you this day.

New York City. The city where my my brother-in-law proposed to my sister in a horse-drawn carriage. The city where I turned 21. The city where I fell in love. New York, I am thinking about you today.

And then he gave himself over entirely to feelings of happiness. 


He was certainly no longer going to be alone, he might even be free... Sighs united together are almost prayers; prayers coming from two hearts are almost acts of grace. 

excerpt from The Count of Monte Cristo