You did it again, my friend. You brought tears to my eyes. They are still there. You tell your story beautifully while at the same time your readers feel elements of their own experiences. Things they(we) have carried with them (us) for years.

Yes indeedy, that woman would be my role model too.

A little story about something that happened a few weeks ago. I thought about it again as I read your essay.

A friend in another city on FT. She couldn’t wait ( I saw the excitement in her eyes). An acquaintance had sad something truly mean, about me actually, in a group conversation at an antique auction. It caused me to wish out loud that people would stop trying so hard to hurt others with their words.

My “ friend” glared at me across her screen and said, “ Suze, grow up. The world is mean and the only way to fit in and move forward is to be just as mean yourself.”

That left me speechless. And yeah, not much of a friend in a bunch of ways, including telling me a story I didn’t need to hear. That’s not my point though.

Until I read your essay, Linda, I was mentally beating myself up thinking I was at fault for allowing that incident to make me feel bad. You gave me a new pair of glasses. Thank you.