This has been a very difficult time for our family with the recent illness of my sister, a noted pianist.
We plan travel in the weeks ahead, to take advantage of the time which will allow us, as a family, to celebrate her life and give her, as well as all of us, hope for a miraculous outcome. Our focus is on the joys of life, love, and the communion of friends and colleagues who have responded so generously, giving their time, traveling great distances to be with her, to cook and to help drive her to treatments.
When malcontents rant that the world is filled with scoundrels, I can only counter with the facts, as we have witnessed: people are filled with empathy and good will towards their fellow human beings when they are in distress. Among the people who have been the most loving and generous are people in the arts: musicians, an artist and an architect, an art curator, several university professors, and former piano students of my sister. Her neighbors have been extraordinarily generous with their time and energy, helping to find the best medical facilities and heath care assistants. Human beings once more rise to the occasion, meeting our expectations of the German proverb our father used to quote: "as you holler into the forest, so it echoes you back." As a teacher, a hostess, a friend, my sister is hearing many beautiful echoes of her life, so well and generously spent for others.