Just Pick Up the Phone
It is now July and I went into a card shop. July had always been a big month for birthdays. My mother was born July 11 th and my husband’s grandmother Thelma’s was July 13. My father and daughter share a birthday, July 24 th . My habit is to take a walk or bike in the afternoon so I walked south on Broadway and found a shop selling cards. Looking over all the humorous and sometimes erotic ones, I didn’t think they were quite right. Then there are the earnest ones that don’t seem to work either. I just need something which says I love you. I miss you. I wish you were here. I wish things could stay the same. Always. But most of my July birthdays are gone, and though my daughter lives quite close we don’t see each other as much as we used to. Her two jobs keep her busy. So I left empty-handed and walked home, dreaming that maybe I would just pick up the phone and give them a call. in memory of Fred Burkhart, would have been 74 on June 23rd ...