Grandmother

Got a call from my uncle. They don't think my grandmother is going to make it through the night.

What I remember about Grams is mints, leather upholstery, fast cars, tennis rackets, golf clubs, a golden-tinseled Christmas tree, her feet thrown up in laughter.

When I was growing up my parents were poor and we lived the relatively joyless and paranoid life of fundamental Christians everywhere. Grams was the antidote to that. Thank god I had her to show me that life can be an animal pursuit; it can be about a well-done club sandwich or a perfectly struck fairway wood. It's all right to live a little, now and then, that's it's okay to laugh instead of think. She tried to show me that.