Luck of the draw?

I’ve been thinking a lot about my family lately. No particular reason, at least as far as I’m aware.

Maybe it’s because of all the recent Facebook backlash. Like so many, I’m not happy about the role they played in the Russian meddling and Cambridge Analytica data breech — but am loath to disconnect because it’s such a great way to keep up to date on all the comings and goings of friends and family who live elsewhere.

Maybe it’s because of Easter and Passover. I’ve written before about how we weren’t particularly observant, but we

The end of an era …

About three weeks ago, I wrote about my aunt, Leatrice, the last of my mother’s sisters. In my heart I knew, that day, she was not doing very well. I spoke with her every week and when I got off the phone after we talked for what turned out to be the last time, I was really concerned about her. What I didn’t know, was just how rapidly she would decline. Unfortunately she passed away eight days ago.

She’s the one in the middle in the photograph. My mother is on the left and her twin sister, on the right. The twins were seven years older than my aunt. She looks about six or seven, I’m guessing — the smocked dress is a give-away, don’t you think? So they would have been thirteen or fourteen. Teenagers, although to me, they look older — more sophisticated. It’s probably the lipstick that was added to the photograph later. And the rouge, as it was called in those days.

I love this photo. The first time I saw it was at my cousin’s house, after my aunt’s funeral. Obviously in those days there were no colour photographs, so this was tinted. The three of them look like they’re in a