My grandmother had a special talent of packing suitcases. For reasons that escape me somehow my Rosemary inherited that talent.

Rosemary and I did a lot of travelling with our daughters, with our granddaughters and just the two of us. She did the packing. On our bed with her iPhone somehow she got the best airline and hotel rates. With her in charge, travelling was breeze. Now having to do this on my own is a real chore. I am going to Mexico City soon and my plane leaves at 7 in the morning. This means I have to wake up very early because of having to show up 3 hours before the flight which is recommended. Being of advanced age (I am 83) can have its benefits. I called the airport and a  pleasant man told me I could show up an hour and half before.

When I went to speak and show my photographs at the Zócalo in Mexico City Book Fair in October 2023I had to go to a travel agency to book my plane ticket. I really missed Rosemary’s organizational skills. My eldest daughter Alexandra advised me to take my Apizaco,Tlaxcala cane. I don't need to use it. When I show up at the airport I am whisked to the beginning of the line and I am the first person onboard. When I arrive at my destination I am met by a kind person with a wheelchair.  My Apizaco cane has a Rosemary connection. We often went to visit my mother who lived in the port city of Veracruz. On our way we never did stop in Apizaco. Now the cane is most useful.

Now with this trip to Mexico City where I am to photograph Pedro Meyer, 90 year-old  blind photographer (who has told me he is going to shoot me) I found myself packing a week before. For the first time in years I took out my ironing board and ironed my shirts and two pairs of pants (only 6 days in CDMX). When I lie on the bed I keep thinking of all kinds of stuff that I have forgotten to pack. I am taking a softbox and a neat compact studio flash system. On that bed I remembered that I had not packed the metal adapter that bonds the softbox to the flash. In Coyoacán, Mexico I would have been unable to use the light.

I have a special pill box with rectangles for days. I have placed all of my wellness medicines, etc. Rosemary would have reminded me to get a small can of shaving cream and small toothpaste, And it goes on and on and I have problems sleeping trying to remember what might be missing.

What I am really missing is my Rosemary.