Iny and Bill

the news from cincinnati is not good. hospice has been called in for uncle bill, my aunt iny's husband. theirs is a love story that has lasted their whole adult lives, and it is very sad to think it might end this christmas.

iny and bill were teenagers when they met. i think they knew right away that they wanted to get married. but iny was studying to be a ballet dancer, and my grandmother wanted her to give that a good shot. bill went into the service. iny became principal dancer of the kansas city ballet.

eventually, bill came back from the service, and eventually they married.

my sister kristin always said that uncle bill was the perfect man: steadfast, calm, loyal, and true. the kind of man, kristin said, that the rather high-strung and intense women in our family needed. certainly he has been perfect for iny. they raised three children, they moved from missouri to pennsylvania to iowa and then to ohio. they traveled to paris and switzerland. a year ago, iny and i were emailing about a trip she and bill wanted to take to ireland. they planned to go in the spring. and then his cancer was discovered.

you and i have talked about some of this already; in late october, i wrote about whether or not i should pray the rosary, as iny had asked me to do. that posting brought more comments than any other i'd written--all thoughtful and benevolent comments. some of you have been praying for bill since then, and that kindness astounds me.

be sad for them, because this is a sad time. but don't be too sad; they have had a wonderful, adventurous and happy time together--more than 50 years. and for that we should all be happy.