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It’s nineteen years today since he last held
A drink in his hand or held his breath while smoke
Filled as much of him as he could stand
Til, letting it out, he sought oblivion
Of the trace of memory or anticipation,
And his life fell into a death spiral. Since then
He’s been around folks like him. When he’s been asked,
And sometimes, eager, when he hasn’t been,
He talks to the ones who are not even sure
They want to learn how to stop killing themselves.
That feeling still seems close to him some days.
Right now he’s okay, and that’s enough, right now.

RIP, Ken. You were important in my life.

Things I Really Like: an Ongoing List

• Birdsong
• Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
• Archie
  
• Tamales
• Black licorice
• Woodsmoke
• Good Table Talk (more often, actually, Bar Talk)
• a Ploughman's Lunch in a pub's garden
• a 5:1 Martini, with a dash of orange bitters and 3 olives
• Wind Chimes
• Telephone calls with my out-of-town kids
• Tacos with my in-town kid (and kid-in-law)
• Resident Taqueria
• Heat
• Daffodils
• Steel-cut oatmeal and a soft-boiled egg

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RIP, Bob Edwards, host of NPR’s Morning Edition for almost 25 years.

from The Atlantic