Old friends -- and old relatives

This must be the week for contact with old friends. I had lunch with Nancie, a work colleague who retired years ago to paint and create glass jewelry; I had an email from Judy, another colleague who retired and moved to La Quinta, and I had breakfast yesterday with Jackie, a fellow writer whom I haven’t seen in almost 9 years. Then today I went to the gym with Sherry – a friend I have steady contact with but don’t get to see nearly often enough. We sometimes work out together and chatter away for an hour or so while on the elliptical trainer and/or stair master, and then continue the conversation over a cup of green tea. Like I said to Jackie yesterday, it’s not about the food. The conversation is what matters. So all that is good. I’ve made it my goal this year to nurture my friendships, and that seems to be working despite of how busy I am at work and with my many outside of work projects – my blog, Facebook, Italian lessons, my memoir, and constant writing submissions.

At Jackie’s advice I submitted an excerpt of my book to Narrative Magazine – an online zine, and five of the poems that are in the book to Memoir Journal and – another online zine. I just have to keep the submissions going. The more on my bio, the better chances I’ll make for myself to get published.

And now for the old relatives -- my mother's paternal grandparents, Joseph and Frieda Siman:





It's so much fun to see what these people looked like. But why so serious?