Trifecta

 

This weekend's challenge: Give us a few of your favorite things, in whichever form you want, in 33 words exactly.

A little preamble is in order. This entry is an homage to one of my favorite writers, Nora Ephron. I adored her work. It was without pretense and was always, always highly relate-able. When she passed away, it was as though I had lost a friend -- even though our lives could not have been more different. She was a child of privilege, born to a husband-wife screenwriting duo in Beverly Hills. She was very close to her sisters. She was a mother, thrice married. She was Jewish. None of those could be said of me. And yet, as I read her essays about life, I understood every word.

Last weekend, for my birthday, I got a copy of her last book: I Remember Nothing. It's a poignant, candid, funny exploration of aging. It ends with sister pieces called "What I Won't Miss" and "What I Will Miss." In retrospect, it's clear she knew she was losing her battle with cancer when she composed these lists. This makes them even more meaningful. 

And so, in my own humble way, I'm paying tribute to my girl Nora by using her "What I Will Miss" format for "My Favorite Things."

 

WHAT I WILL MISS

The skyline

My cats
Train rides

Coffee shop breakfasts

Blue skies

Gray skies

Long talks

Good books
Writing

Movies, even bad ones

The Beatles

Watching my niece and nephew

 

PS There's a regular contributor here at Trifecta whose style reminds me of Nora Ephron -- and I mean that as high praise. Like Nora, she knows what to include to give her writing authenticity, and what to leave out so it still moves. Her name is Gina, and here's her blog. (Yes, I do care what you write!)

About the photos: Life Magazine makes a library of their archive images available for free to use for “non-commercial personal purposes."