Yesterday I got an email from my brother with the subject line “Rye bread and Riesling”. To which I replied “Broccoli and Sauvignon Blanc”. I don’t think either of use lit candles, but we both commemorated the 10th anniversary of our mother’s death by dining on foods she liked. Dark bread, white wine, and green leafy vegetables.
On my brother’s recommendation, I watched the documentary Shoot Me, about Elaine Stritch, who just died last week, and was almost exactly the same age as our mom – 89. Stritch was born February 2, 1925 in Detroit; our mom February 22, 1925 in Cincinnati. You can get the movie on Netflix. Stritch was a lot like our mom. I decided after watching that in some parallel world, our mom might’ve been Elaine Stritch – Ruth was a another Midwestern girl who could belt out a song and tell a great story. But somehow Elaine ended up on Broadway – and at the Carlyle – and Ruth ended up in Pittsburgh a doctor’s wife with two kids and president of Southwestern Pennsylvania League of Women Voters, and a 35 year career as a medical librarian, that began when she was 40. And drinks at the Carlyle, when in New York City.
Funny how it all works out.
