A visit from the Zehners

Chuck and Kathy at Speisekammer in Alameda, January 9, 2014

Next Monday marks a year without Jean, and my proudest achievement is just to be able to write something, anything to the blog, to have survived.  Truthfully, I'm not sure that would have happened without devoted, helpful friends, who remained loyal to a morose widower, not always an outstanding performer in the appreciation department.

There are too many of these kind souls to list here, and it would doubtless be embarrassing for some of them.  But two of the latest to lift my spirits were Chuck and Kathy Zehner, whom Jean met on the Prairie Home Companion Norway Cruise with her mom Sylvia in 2007.  Chuck and Kathy live in Illinois, and always looked us up on their frequent trips to the Bay Area to visit their son.  They came by the hospice a year ago, and Chuck serenaded Jean on his guitar, at a time when

Chuck and Kathy at La Luna in Concord,
January 23, 2014. Note the change in Chuck's grooming:
something in the Bay Area ambience inspired him
to clean up his act  

she responded to touch and music more than words.  They told me at the memorial that our friendship would endure, and it was heartwarming to see them in January, and know that was true.