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| Rosa 'A Shropshire Lad' - 15 September 2026 |
A few years
ago Australian journalist Jonathan Swan asked President Trump to comment on the
many Americans who had died of covid. His answer was, “It is what it is.”
I have a
Korean friend. Djun Kim, who is a digital genius and with his wife they are professional
ballroom dancers. I told him Swan’s story and his answer was, “Alex that is a thought stopper.”
Every day I
am confronted by thought stoppers particularly when I tell friends how sad I am
because I miss my wife Rosemary who died on December 9, 2020. They mostly say, “I am sorry.” Some advise me to, “Find distractions,” or “Go
see a councellor.” Some even suggest, “You
should meet some women.”
My youngest
daughter, who is going through a messy separation after a 30-year marriage,
gets lots of thought stoppers like, “Go
dancing to meet some men.” Driving my 56 year-old daughter last night she
told me,“Papi I am not interested in other
men or having a relationship.”
Luckily
tonight I am going to my monthly Vancouver Rose Society where I will have all kind
of sweet goodies to eat and decent coffee or tea. I will talk about innocuous stuff
like telling some of the folks that my best rose right now is Rosa ‘A Shropshire Lad’.
When I am
asked how I am my answer is my usual, “I
am terrible because I am Argentine. But I could be worse if I were a Venezuelan
or a Colombian.”
While may
seem funny is it a funny thought stopper? I don’t want to answer about my
isolation and loneliness in which my only comfort is my female cat Niña.