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I am planning on planting Yukon Golds tomorrow, so this is going out early. The author Richard Ford was a guest on “Fresh Air” hosted by Terry Gross this week. He has written a memoir about his parents titled “Between Them”. He was born in 1943, fifteen years into his parent’s marriage and as an only child, he always thought that he had come between them. His father died when Richard was young and his mother died a few years ago. It reminded me of my Dad and this story that I wrote shortly after he died.

“Clearing out Dad’s room has been quite the experience. Many years ago Dad went to work as a dishwasher at Little Sisters of the Poor in St. Paul. His boss was Maxine Rowan and they became good friends. When Maxine died, Dad asked me to sing two songs at her memorial service. I sang The Lord’s Prayer and Amazing grace a Capella.

One of the pieces of furniture that Dad brought with him when he moved in with me was a glass front corner unit with glass shelves. One of the items on a shelf was an egg with silver decorations on the top and a seam around the middle. I was thinking that it had a doll inside of it, but when I tried to lift the top part off, it would not easily come apart. I took it into the kitchen and using a table knife, I pried it open. What I found was ashes! “Oh my God, it was Maxine”. I spilled a little in my haste to replace the top and quickly returned it to its place in the curio. A few years later I dug a hole next to Dad’s headstone and buried it there.”

The APHC this week is a rebroadcast of the season finale in Saint Paul, Minnesota with The Avett Brothers, Jesca Hoop, and Jen Kirkman. Tune in this weekend on your local public radio station. Chris and the gang will be back at The Fitzgerald Theatre with a brand-new live broadcast next Saturday!
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“Find expression for sorrow and it will become dear to you. Find expression for a joy and it will intensify its ecstasy.” Oscar Wilde