Aunt Olive and Lena Einstein

Two people I know passed away this week. The first was Aunt Olive - such a sweet person. I know she was in a lot of pain - so much that that they had to use a double dose of morphine. I wish that she didn't have to suffer. The illnesses that Uncle Ray and Grandpa are facing are, in an odd way, blessings at these times. I think if they were fully aware of the loss of their beloved spouses, the grief would be too much for them. The Alzheimer's and Parkinson's that each one faces kind of protects them. I can see glimpses of it with Grandpa - the moments he's aware of Grandma's passing and the overwhelming grief that creeps out at those moments. As the rest of the family is out of town, and Grandpa can't really leave the nursing home, I'm the family representative for the funeral. One of the local radio morning programs had a topic recently along the lines of: "When did you know that you'd become an adult?". One of my answers now would be being in charge of buying flowers for a funeral on behalf of the family. I'd been in on those decisions before, but never had to deal with it on my own.

A friend of mine also died yesterday. Lina Einstein. She was a beautiful lady and very supportive of my singing. Even before she got sick, I'd think of her every time I listened to or worked on Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail. I don't know why this opera in particular - not, let's say, Die Fledermaus instead, as she had sung in a few "community" type operetta groups (from the way she described them to me - she could have been just being modest). I'll never forget singing Stille Nacht for her during the Christmas services at Syracuse Homes. She's a very brave lady too - she and her husband left Germany just prior to WWII. (He was Jewish). With the studying I've done about the time period, I can only imagine what it was like for them. I'm very grateful to God that I was able to meet her. I know she's with her husband now and at peace, which is what she had been praying for for a while now. Even though there are a lot of people who will miss her, we're grateful for that fact.