from Alta Mesa to the new de Young

Thanks to all mothers who continue to work from the other side.

Have just been to visit the mausoleum where the ashes of paternal relatives are gathered. Have also been good at pacing myself since mother Anne's funeral, like here in the sculpture garden at the new de Young, or sitting in the perch of its tower - on a redwood bench shaped like a compass needle - where I could regain my orientation and bearings in a 360 degree landscape loaded with personal history and childhood memories.
Cobwebs, earwigs and silverfish, motheaten photos, cookie crumbs, rotten fruits, mouse spill, and soiled curtains give way to oxidized copper and bronze, an enormous blob of molten stainless steel that reflects the sky, the redwood forests, cypresses, plane trees and live oak, green grasses, a vast ocean and the two towers of a single suspension bridge.
I am doing my best to avoid being overwhelmed by the aftermath of the open casket, the requiem in the Haight, the burial at Golden Gate National Cemetery, intensive visits with old friends and family, the natural beauty of the area and the incredible richness of ambient culture. Mother Anne and I used to visit the old de Young regularly. The new de Young serves to lighten the burden of today's relentless cleaning, inventory, reading of notes, sifting through letters and documents.