Yesterday I edited my
museum files, throwing out a thousand pages of correspondence and other
ephemera. It felt like the dead were piling up around me. Online I looked up
authors who had promised me things, whom I hadn’t heard from in just long
enough, thinking that they might be dead. Reader, they are.
I edit the historical
musings of old men, many of whom I become extremely fond. One by one, they
leave me. This meant, in some cases, I could toss their files. In others, it
meant I could not. After all, some of them are a little famous. And some of
them I loved.
Lately it’s been death
death death. The parents of my generation are leaving. Who will it be today?
"It felt like the dead were piling up around me" is such a good way of putting it. And all those deaths sound like they're piling up on top of you. I hope there are none today. Or this week. Or for the rest of the year.
ReplyDeleteAre you allowed to let the names slip of some of the little famous men you have worked with?
They are only famous in particular circles, I'm afraid. Big names in the field, not big names in the world.
DeleteThis is a lovely post. I say that these days, my friends and I all begin discussions about how our parents or in-laws are, if they are still around.
ReplyDeleteThough, given current events, I have to say that at the moment, we would welcome death death death. Sometimes life goes on too long.
I hope 2019 will be a different (better!) year for you.
ReplyDeleteIt's a terrible feeling. I remember when we lost 5 grandparents and my father-in-law within a couple years wondering who would be next. It was a constant weight that only slipped away slowly. I truly hope this is the beginning of that feeling slipping away for you.
ReplyDelete