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Comment by Trina Mamoon on August 28, 2022 at 6:23pm

Dear Charles,

Great to hear from you. You write so well and express your thoughts and feelings so well, too. So yesterday was your and Larry's 39th anniversary? I can only imagine what kind of day it must have been with a walk down memory lane.

I am glad to hear that you are feeling brave and are getting more and more comfortable in your new home with Steve where you have a studio overlooking Oneida Lake. It sounds like a charming place, your studio, a place to do creative work and to reflect and to write.

Hope as the years go by you become more and more comfortable with your life as it has been these past so many years.

Hugs, Trina

Comment by Trina Mamoon on August 28, 2022 at 6:14pm

Dear DJ, hi,

I just saw your message from August 4th now! I was in Bangladesh on August 4th--Joseph's 8th anniversary of death--and didn't see your post on that significant day.

I am deeply moved that you remembered the date and that you also reached out to me. I cannot thank you enough for your kindness. 

Even though eight years have passed since I lost Joseph, it still is very hard, perhaps not as gut wrenchingly hard it was the first few years, but hard nonetheless. I just go through life as I must, but very little truly interests me or appeals to me. I feel restless and never at peace, always searching, always feeling unrequited...

Thank you again for remembering Joseph and for dropping me a line on the 4th.

Stay well. Hugs, Trina

Comment by Charles E. Nelson on August 28, 2022 at 9:54am

"Hello...is there anybody out there?"

I open with a line from Pink Floyd, although equally appropriate would be Judy Collins' "Who knows where the time goes?"

Yesterday would have been (or still is) Larry's and my 39th anniversary. As I write this I sit in a second story room in a very old house in upstate NY. This is now to be my studio, with windows facing the view of Oneida Lake across the road. An almost identical room across the hall is Steve's studio, with the same view. We call them studios, but they are just places where we can work on projects, and do anything else where we need to leave stuff "in progress" untouched without it being in the way.

The word busy doesn't begin to describe what we've been doing for the last months, but everything we finish or accomplish here makes me feel more and more like this is home. I don't have the words for how all this makes me feel - not something I usually find difficult. Like other times in my life when things began moving rapidly and at times somewhat chaotically I seem to go on auto-pilot, moving from one priority to the next with little time for reflection on my feelings. Those currents still run quietly and steadily in the recesses of my mind with only occassional flashes triggered by a piece of music, or a memory discovered while unpacking yet another moving box. 

And this brings me here, to a family I've known for years now, and like my own family there are long lapses in communication - but all the people I have known have all come to this new place with me. I hope to spend some time writing here about this place, and once we resolve issues with photo downloading, I want to show you what it looks like from our perspective. 

So we're here, well (fingers crossed), and finding our way along this strange new path - one that's as beautiful as it is challenging. When thinking about the reason for our move, and our goals, I would say we're definitely on track and managing successfully the myriad of tasks and details that accompany transplanting oneself, times 2. Night brings an exhaustion that feels good because it means we got more done. It's what we've wanted and done all along - make plans, put them in motion, and go with the flow. So far this is working fine for us and believe me we are overwhelmingly grateful for the way we've been blessed. 

Somebody asked me when we were enroute and stopping in Fla. how it feels moving to a new house we had actually never seen in person. "Exciting and scary" was my reply, and I guess that's still true. But doesn't that describe life? I am also very aware of the fact that Steve and I had formed a lifelong bond before we had ever met in person too - so maybe taking a leap of faith is now becoming more comfortable for me. 

I think of the weeks and months ahead, with their possibilities and some serious responsibilities, and find myself a bit anxious but not afraid. Several times when things were going spectacularly badly during this transition, Steve reminded me of something important to remember by saying " Why would God bring us this far through all the last years just to walk away from us now?" 

Why indeed - so I surprisingly now see myself a little differently than I have over my life. Instead of fearful I now feel brave. Even writing that word startles me - my best friend called me that once we moved here, and he has known me since we met as teenagers so he remembers the timid kid I was. And part of that comes from someone who now feels that God hasn't turned away but has embraced me. 

And that I guess is the best way to describe the way I feel.

Love to you all,

Chuck

Comment by DJ on August 4, 2022 at 11:42am

Hey Trina; remembering Joseph...

Comment by Diane C on July 12, 2022 at 11:36am

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to say Hi. I haven't been on in a while, but all is fine. Rich's 10th year of being gone is coming up Aug. 1st. Still miss him as much as I did 10 years ago if not more. Life goes on for the rest of us, but it will never be the same. It was good seeing some familiar faces/names. Take care and stay well. Hugs!! 

Comment by Chicago Beard on July 11, 2022 at 5:03pm

Hi Sara! Thanks for checking in. Right now things are good for me. Hope everyone else is doing well!

Comment by Todd B. Goodrich on July 11, 2022 at 3:48pm

Hi Sara! I am well and hope you are doing the same! Wishing everyone here a lovely July. Stay cool my friends!

Todd

Comment by Sara Murphy on July 11, 2022 at 3:11pm

Hi Everyone.....it's been pretty quiet here so I wanted to check in on you all.  Hope all is well and you're enjoying your summer

Comment by Mary. Jane on June 4, 2022 at 11:20am

  Hi everyone..yes, things are better…June 17 will . Have been my 55th anniversary! We went to RENO. NV to get married in a tiny chapel..but family and friends went with us..about 4 cars of people. It was a lot of fun. So much has changed..but still the same.One of the most positive things in my NOW life:  I am completely in charge of that life!  I make my own decisions,  can do anything I choose, cook what I like, etc. Between Bob and my parents, I was always told to do things THEIR way. I like this aspect of my new life..just me, and RUDY the wonder kitty!  I wish everyone a nice weekend. 

Comment by Chicago Beard on June 4, 2022 at 9:21am

Hi Mary Jane,

Hope all is well!

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