A Trip to Winslow

 

12/18/25 Light rail and ferry riders

Once my life settled again after I knew Greg was safe and well taken care of, one of my priorities was to get back in touch with people. I have certain friends whom I have stayed in contact with through holiday cards or occasional emails, but it had been years and sometimes decades since I had last seen them, even though they lived locally. If there is one lesson I have learned over the past several difficult years, it is that life is short and unpredictable. If I want to see people, I can’t wait for “someday” when I’m – what, “less busy”? When would that ever be? It must be now.

One of those people was my fourth grade teacher at John Muir Elementary. Amazingly, I have kept in touch with Nan ever since. Truthfully, though, I must thank my mom for doing the heavy lifting. Always a prolific letter writer, my mother and Nan had made a connection and corresponded regularly all through my busy early adult life. I was more sporadic with my communication, but our connection was never lost.

I had seen Nan in person a couple of times as an adult – first at my wedding in 1989, and then again about 20 years ago. She lived on the peninsula – only a ferry ride and a drive away. On Thursday we got together on Bainbridge Island about halfway between us. We spent a lovely few hours catching up and becoming reacquainted in a way that we never had time for during our working (and, for her, child-rearing) years. We vowed to get together again soon.

These sketches I made around my ferry rides are not about that lifelong friendship directly, but I thought about her as I made them, both coming and going. I know they will always remind me of her and the day we reconnected over a leisurely lunch.