GAYLE'S ASHES

As I said in my earlier post, Spreading Ashes, my brother-in-law, Frank, (husband to my deceased sister, Gayle) and I went to New Orleans to spread a few of her ashes in City Park, because the place had meaning for us, since we had spent time there as children and because the park was the place where Gayle and Frank met.

The picture above shows the spot in City Park where Frank spread Gayle's ashes, somewhere between the palm and the oak tree. It's a beautiful place, across the lagoon from the Peristyle. I didn't think to say a prayer, but I believe that the whole outing was a prayer, including lunch and a later visit to Audubon Park to put ashes in the lagoon there. I hope that Frank won't mind my sharing this, but they used to park and talk at Audubon Park after school - trust me, it was mostly talk, because it was often daylight. Sometimes, the police would come by and drive them away from their talk.

Altogether, Saturday was a lovely day. We felt somewhat sad, but mostly we experienced a sense of rightness about what we were doing, leaving a part of Gayle in the city that she loved to visit in places that were meaningful for her and us. Frank and their children and I all feel the ache from Gayle's absence in our lives every day, Frank and the children more than I, I'm sure. We'll never stop missing her, however, all in all, it was a good day.

Pictured below on the left is the restaurant, La Vita, where Frank and I had a delicious lunch of Italian food after the spreading of the ashes in City Park. The picture on the right shows the bar in the restaurant, made of what look to be rough, old barn boards cut to size. It's a funky thing of beauty.