Grief | Mixed Metaphors

Mar 23 2024

Posts

The First Goodbye: Remembering Uncle Willy

“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.” ― Shannon Alder

“Some people, sweet and attractive, and strong and healthy, happen to die young. They are masters in disguise teaching us about impermanence. ― Dalai Lama

Today is St. Patrick’s Day as I begin drafting this reminiscence and tribute to my Uncle Willy. He was born William Roger Mason ― my mother’s favorite ―and beloved ― younger brother. Since I was child when I knew him, he will forever be remembered by his endearment, Uncle Willy. Continue reading →

Tagged Brother, Death, Family, Family Heritage, Family History, Family Stories, Father, Gratitude, Grief, Gun Violence, Home, Loss, Memoir, Mother, Oral History, Racine, Recovery, Relationships, Sisters, Suicide

Feb 05 2024

Posts

The Last Goodbye

We bid farewell to our father, grandfather, and great grandfather.

“Someday I’m going to write a book about our family!” — This writer as a defiant 16-year-old.

“I look forward to reading it!” — Our beloved mother

First, I haven’t drafted and posted new content for this blog since the end of October. The past three months have been a challenge and an unexpected journey. Though I’ve not written for my blog, I’ve done more writing during this period compared to what is typical. Most of it communication with bio and chosen family, journal entries, and social media posts. Continue reading →

Tagged Blatz Party, Brother, Chosen Family, COVID-19, Death, Elegy for my father, Family, Father, Friends, Funeral, Gratitude, Grief, Holidays, Internment, Loss, Love, Memorial, Memories, Mother, Obituary, Racine, Stories, Tag Team Sisters, Tribute to my father, Visitation

Sep 17 2023

Posts

Meditations on Mortality: Grief & Gratitude

Meditation definition (Oxford Languages) – a written or spoken discourse expressing considered thoughts on a subject.

Mortality definition (Oxford Languages) – the state of being subject to death.

“You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die, or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live.” — Joan Baez

As a person of a certain age — living my seventh decade — death and dying are on my mind.

Recently, there have been unexpected deaths of friends and loved ones, plus celebrities and artists in the public sphere, caused by accidents, deadly health crisis, unknown reasons, suicide, or overdose. When we’re unprepared for the sudden news, it’s both shocking and unsettling. For many of us, it’s a reminder of our own mortality. Continue reading →

Tagged 9/11, Celebration of Life, Chosen Family, Death, Death and Dying, Family, Father, Gratitude, Grief, Legacy, Life and Living, Loss, Love, Meditations, Memoir, Memories, Mortality, Mother, Sisters

May 12 2023

Posts

I’m a Little Bit OCD

I’m a big fan of our premier local theater group, Forward Theater Co. Every other year they mount a monologue festival, featuring about a dozen original monologues from all over the U.S. This year the theme is Out in This World described as follows from their website:

“They say that traveling leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller. FTC’s seventh monologue festival, Out in This World, presents twelve storytellers whose tales will take you on journeys both familiar and unexpected. Whether venturing to faraway places or making discoveries closer to home, this collection of original monologues will transport you. Who knows where the path might lead?” Continue reading →

Tagged Cape Cod, Forward Theater Monologue Festival, Grief, I'm a Little Bit OCD, Inn on Cook Street, Koi Cottage, Loss, Memories, Out in This World, Provincetown, The Lobster Pot, Things Change, Vacation

Apr 26 2023

Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: Casualties

“Life seems sometimes like nothing more than a series of losses, from beginning to end. That’s the given. How you respond to those losses, what you make of what’s left, that’s the part you have to make up as you go.” ― Katharine Weber

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” ― Laozi

This past Saturday night we planned an event, Last Night at the Hotel Bar, a reunion of sorts, a wake, and sendoff, not for a person but for a place, The Brink Lounge in Madison, Wisconsin. It was a gathering for Madison Indie Filmmakers, friends, and supporters. We referred to ourselves as the Barflies. The Brink Lounge was closing permanently on April 30. Continue reading →

Tagged Casualties, COVID-19, Death, Dispatch from the Hideout, Family, Films, Friends, Grief, Hotel Bar, Loss, Pandemic, Politics, The Brink Lounge, Things Change, Wisconsin Film Festival

Feb 05 2023

Posts

Celebrating a Decade of Mixed Metaphors, Oh My!

“Sometimes we become what we do. I became a writer by writing.”— Linda Lenzke, Blogger & More

“I write to discover what I know.” — Flannery O’Connor

Ten years ago in January, I took a WordPress class at Madison College. I decided that I wanted to take the next step as a writer: design, create, and launch a blog. I had been taking a series of reminiscence writing classes from a mentor and writing coach who would later become a friend and writing partner, Sarah White of First Person Productions. Prior to the classes, I had been writing for decades, poetry, spoken word monologues, stand-up comedy, and journaling for over 30 years. The reminiscence classes were a launchpad for my memoir, Perfectly Flawed, which I’m still writing, editing, and adding content as I live and write. Continue reading →

Tagged Blog, COVID-19, Death, Dispatch from the Hideout, Family, Films, Friends, Gratitude, Grief, Holidays, Home, LGBTQ, Love, Memoir, Memories, Mixed Metaphors Oh My!, Personal Narratives, Recovery, Relationships, Seasons, Stories, Writing

Dec 06 2022

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Posts

Letter to Loved Ones (Just in Case)

“My life has not always been easy, but it’s always been worth the effort. I’ve not always possessed what I’ve wanted, but I always received what I needed, and most days it was simply the love of friends and family, and the ability to live comfortably in my own skin.” — from Dispatch from the Hideout: Letter to Loved Ones

For those who know me personally and/or read my blog or social media posts, I’m open and share freely about my personal life, some say I overshare. I write about my lived experience, often the mundane moments of everyday life, and sometimes I wax philosophically or poetically about our shared universal human experience. In essence, I’m an open book, and you choose whether to pick it up and read, or not! Continue reading →

Tagged Death, Dispatch from the Hideout, Family, Friends, Gratitude, Grief, Hip Replacement, Journals, Legacy, Letter to Loved Ones, Love, Obituary, Recovery, Tag Team Sisters

Mar 20 2022

Posts

A Filmgoer’s Guide to the Best Films of 2021

“The part about going to the movies that was so thrilling was not the film itself…but being around other humans, tearing up at the end and realizing that the people on either side of me were sniffling, too.” — How Life Resumes, NTY, Melissa Kirsch, 2/19/22

Things change. As I write, the Academy Awards are a week away on Sunday, March 27. I usually post my annual, A Filmgoer’s Guide to the Best Films, well in advance of the Oscars. Since the event is approaching, the deadline for this review is here.

Award shows this year, those that didn’t cancel their in-person events, were delayed. The same was true of many of the films from 2021. Studios hoped people would feel safe enough to return to theaters in person so they postponed premieres. Most didn’t feel safe, including me. Continue reading →

Tagged A Filmgoer's Guide to the Best Films, Audiences, B/W, Cinephile, COVID-19, Critics, Family, Father, Films, Grief, Loss, Love, Mother, Movie Theater, Movies, Pandemic, Personal Narratives, Relationships, Reviews, Stories, Streaming Subscriptions, The Bechdel Test

Dec 26 2021

Posts

Dispatch from the Hideout: Omicron Edition

“The year 2021 has been like a roller coaster. It was supposed to be the year the pandemic fizzled out. Instead, it was a year of intense whiplash.” — Julie Ries

“It’s not over, till it’s over!” — Yogi Bera

This dispatch is part holiday season review, 2021 year-end wrap up, plus a look ahead, and once again, an acceptance of opposing conditions, that things both change and remain the same. It has been a year characterized by both hope and despair, gratitude and grief, and resistance and surrender.

The past year — or 22 months — depending on how you want to count — we’ve been riding the coronacoaster of the COVID pandemic. There have been highs and lows on this ride, whiplash, and screams. We want to get off this ride, yet we can’t until it’s over. Continue reading →

Tagged 2021 Year-in-Review, COVID-19, Death, Dispatch from the Hideout, Family, Father, Films, Friends, Gratitude, Grief, Holiday Season, Holidays, Home, Look Ahead, Loss, Omicron, Pandemic

Dec 12 2021

Posts

The Legacy of Material Things

“We didn’t have much, but we had love.” ― Tyler Perry

“I’ve not always possessed what I’ve wanted, but I always received what I needed, and most days it was simply the love of friends and family, and the ability to live comfortably in my own skin.” ― From Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! Dispatch from the Hideout: Letter to Loved Ones

It’s that time of year when we celebrate the holidays, often the traditions of the generations that preceded us, the food we eat, the rituals we recreate, the stories we tell, and the memories we share. This is our legacy. It’s also that time of year when many of us look back and reflect on the year behind us and grieve our loved ones no longer present in life.

We inherit many things from our family, from our DNA to our shared lived experiences, both nature and nurture. We also inherit material things, bequeaths, mementos, and gifts from family, friends, and loved ones. They also represent a legacy. What creates a person’s legacy? Continue reading →

Tagged Brother, Chosen Family, COVID-19, Death, Family, Father, Friends, Gratitude, Grief, Holidays, Legacy of Material Things, Loss, Love, Marriage, Relationships, Sisters

Mixed Metaphors

Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! – A place where words, this writer, and readers play together.

Tag Archives: Grief

The First Goodbye: Remembering Uncle Willy

The Last Goodbye

Meditations on Mortality: Grief & Gratitude

I’m a Little Bit OCD

Dispatch from the Hideout: Casualties

Celebrating a Decade of Mixed Metaphors, Oh My!

Letter to Loved Ones (Just in Case)

A Filmgoer’s Guide to the Best Films of 2021

Dispatch from the Hideout: Omicron Edition

The Legacy of Material Things