an old writer and his words

  • FAREWELL

    Is there any good way to remotelyannounce an unexpected death?When our mother died, her son (mystatus as a son then in flux althoughI wouldn’t discover that until later)opted for an early morning phone call,cursory, the time, the cause, its suddenness,and then assigned me to write and pay for the obituary,which he finally approved eight drafts…

    Lou Faber

  • I DIDN’T DIE

    I can tell you why Idid not die in Vietnam, sincethat was my war, yours aremuch newer and still remembered.I didn’t die becauseI enlisted and was not draftedso I got to choose and pickedthe Air Force, which reducedthe odds of dying significantly.They would have been higherif I were an officer, but thatwould have required a…

    Lou Faber

  • EULOGY

    In a perfect world it would bea requirement that every personupon reaching the age of 40would be compelled to writea draft of a eulogy in the voiceof each lover or partner whoserelationship he or she chose to end,one that the spurned loverwould deliver at his or her funeral.The task would comewith the caveat that one…

    Lou Faber

  • RETAINER

    I had a meeting this morningwith a number of the birdsthat inhabit our wetland. The said they wanted to retainmy services, although howthey discovered I was a lawyeris wholly beyond me as Iretired several years ago. They asked me to drafta cease and desist letterto all Americans, demandingthat we stop tweeting, ormore to the point,…

    Lou Faber

  • ROSHI

    To arise from the earth is simple, too fall back the more difficult, for that is a journey we all seem to fear, though with no arising, there can be no falling back. When I finally admitted that I feared dying and didn’t want to be drafted to fight in that war Roshi asked me…

    Lou Faber