Postscript

Dear blog followers,

Gina's spouse, Toba, here.  I know that Gina last posted in January; sadly, the fucking cancer got the upper hand, and Gina passed away on March 6.  Gina was an amazing person, as I am sure even those of you who did not know her were able to glean from her blog.  Her funeral, presided over by our friend Rabbi Barbara Penzner, was a moving, powerful testament to her life (attended by over 600 people).  If you are interested, you can read Rabbi Penzner's remarks, and the eulogies by former students, colleagues, our kids and me, at http://dorsheitzedek.org/gina-fried-funeral.

Writing this blog, and knowing that many people all over the world were reading it, gave Gina an enormous amount of satisfaction as she dealt with this nasty disease.  I know the blog was a gift to many, and the fact that her words touched others was a gift to Gina.  May her words, and her memory, continue to be a blessing.

Love,
Toba

Gina, I need to tell you something...

A wonderful reader asked the following:

"Gina, how do those of us who have loved your words get to let you know we are still thinking of you? Should we keep writing new comments on old posts?"

So, dear and wonderful readers, please feel free to leave and thoughts, questions, ideas, etc. as a comment to this post.

Love,
Gina

Goodbye (I think)

"Any blog thoughts?" my spouse asked me while we were out walking on a bizarrely warm January evening.

"Nope."

And that seems to be it. I'm not sure when I thought this blog would end. Maybe after 100 posts. Maybe when I died.  Maybe when I had a grandchild. None of those has happened, yet here I am, nonetheless, with not a word to say.

One thing that I'm proud of is that I never shared a post when I had nothing to say. I certainly don't plan on changing that rule now.

I wish you all some light in the dark times, and pure jubilation in the light times.

Love,

Gina

A little thought about 2016

Happy 2016!

I must admit that I'm feeling pretty hopeful for the coming year. When my daughter was younger she had a birthday party and I bought a numerology book for fun. Each of her guests would tell me her birthday, and I would tell them about themselves based on the numerological analysis of the date. I put about as much stock in that as I do in astrology, but I still think about it sometimes. This morning, for example, I was wondering if 2016 would be the year that I die. "Well," I thought, "2+0+1+6=9. Nine just doesn't feel like the number for me." It makes no sense at all, but I took some comfort in the idea that 2016 didn't feel like the year of my death.

So there's that.