i understand that one of the challenges of growing older is that many that you care about are growing even older. and while wisdom and experience come with age, so does illness. all that to say that i'm done with death. i feel like i've experienced more death since december than most people do in a lifetime - the most recent being my dear, dear friend laura townsend who passed this morning.
townsend, as she was affectionately know, was a super woman. we met while teaching at elmhurst middle school in oakland, ca. she was in her mid to late sixties working on her third or fourth career and i was 24 fresh out of college looking to change the world. from day one, she took me under her wing. i truly believe that she was sent to me as a replacement grandmother. she was so much like my grandmother - except that my grandmother was neither black nor a lesbian - and filled that void in my life when i desperately needed someone to fill that role.
townsend and i have been through many years together with many things to celebrate and many things to mourn. through it all, she was my light. she some how also let me know that life was going to work out and we were going to be just fine.
and in the words of townsend - death can kiss my royal ethiopian ass!
19 September 2009
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2 comments:
Thank you for this. You said it much better than I could. I also taught at Elmhurst and Laura Townsend was truly a woman to behold.
I'm glad that you came across the post. I think that I'm going to start a weekly post on what I learned from Townsend.
When were you at Elmhurst? I was there from '94-'99.
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