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| Día de los Muertos |
Friday and Saturday followed Halloween with Día de los Muertos, the popular Mexican version of All Souls Day. Celebrations are colorful and exciting. Like unpretty gargoyles on a church, Halloween and Día de los Muertos may confuse casual observers as to their religious bona fides.
All Souls remembers those who have come before, ephemeral passages our modern world neglects. But on this holiday of remembrance, I stumbled upon a passing you’re unlikely to forget.
Shock and Aww
For those who believe the world fosters no more eternal love stories, meet Carolyn Hamilton. She has such a gift for description, we barely resist falling into the gravitational pull of her words.
The title demonstrates truth-in-publishing still exists. Tik Tok has inured us to sensational headlines where ‘shock’ and ‘disturb’ may mean an influencer is showing off her too-transparent fashion haul so that, oopsie, nobody misses the show, yawn. Audience, please restrain your intense emotions.
Hamilton, if anything, understates shock. The White Queen told Alice she could imagine six impossible things before breakfast. Contrariwise, I found myself believing two antipodal understandings before dinner. I could comprehend a reader shocked and disturbed, and I grasped precisely how and why Carolyn… well…
I couldn’t have done it… I doubt most could. But Like Water for Chocolate, I get it. I get it. Unlike Tita’s story, Carolyn celebrates happiness.
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| Carolyn and Jeff Hamilton family |
Here is Carolyn Hamilton’s article. Let us know what you think.
When My Husband Died, I Did Something That May Shock and Disturb…
Well, now that I have mopped the tears from my eyes and blown my nose a few times: I thought it was wonderful. And her daughters were right, that was a very ancient. But I also couldn't help thinking of Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land" where, after someone dies, like the main character, they do a communion by eating him. Requiescat in pace to all the dear departed...
ReplyDeleteEve, I'd forgotten that part in Stranger. As for Carolyn Hamilton, I'm in awe. Her article is less rollercoaster and more emotional ski-jump. Her description is almost cinematic and doubly powerful. I hope she sees your comment.
DeleteCouldn't finish it. This is what I went through, six years ago (at least until the part I stopped reading.) The trouble is, one revisits their own grief when confronted with the grief of another, similar death. It's too much. Melodie
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about the distress, Melodie, and very sorry about your loss. I find it difficult to offer words, inadequate as they are. I don't know the antidote, only the shared pain.
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