Gertrude Abercrombie, Pink Carnations, 1939

One day

my brother and I were talking about the stuff we had accumulated over our lives.  In my case that would be my guitars, books, Halloween decorations, some artwork my collection of Pez Dispensers and my Gargoyle collection.

My Brother looked at me the way our Dad did when he caught me being a world class idiot and he said, ” you know, you should get rid of stuff that doesn’t really matter.

” Like what” I asked him. ” which of my treasures should I get rid of first?”

” Well. Those Pez things are junk and do you need all of those books? Be real,  you know that you CAN  happily exist without  a gargoyle collection. ”

I pictured myself in a coffin, wearing a dress I didn’t like, which would be ok because it’s dark in there.  I saw the pictured myself covered with dust and mold and I also  pictured my brother digging me up, prying open my coffin lid and looking down at me with that same look our Dad used to give me when he caught me being a world class idiot ( which was often ) and saying…

” Anita. Did you REALLY need to take this with you to your grave? REALLY?

“Yes,”I’d say as I worked open my rotting jaw to answer him.

Absolutely.

Yes”