Cloister Commentary, Day 63: Bells and Chimes

I awakened, wrote the last of seven stories about my departed friend–does anyone else compose on Facebook? I can think of many reasons not to, but it’s where the audience is–felt like taking a 24-hour-nap, but rallied for a visit with Nicole to a special spot on Hickman High School’s east side: a labyrinth for meditation, created by Kewpie students with George’s help to honor a fallen, much-loved master teacher a few years ago. We thought it would be a fitting place to quiet down and honor George’s memory, and we were right. It was our highlight of the day by far. When we stepped to the labyrinth, distant church bells rang in the eighth morning hour; when we stepped out, wind blew through chimes hanging from a nearby tree limb. I ain’t superstitious, but those were heart-lifting coincidences, and they inspired us to once again visit both Love Coffee (the three of us had made that a favorite place) and, later, Bangkok Gardens, the first place we’d ever eaten together. When we stepped out of Love Coffee, and received a message from my friend Kristy that the Tribune had published an op-ed about George, so we drove right around the corner and bought out Break Time. Matt Gordon, a Veterans United employee, sparely yet vividly and eloquently captured the essence of George’s approach to life. As I writer, I was envious.