A Charmed Life, Amid Order and Disorder

The author, 83 and a widower, drives from a northern suburb of Philadelphia, Pa. to take his oldest daughter Jane to a lunch for Mother's Day 2010. Her two grown children live in other states. Jane, 61, is a recent grandmother. The author is a recent great-grandfather.

A former teacher of high school English, the author retired in 1991 and for about 10 years traveled extensively throughout Europe but now tutors 8 adults, 6 Korean women and 2 African-Americans, for the Abington Library adult literacy program.

Each of his 8 students gets an individual one-hour session one day a week. The tutors are not compensated for their gas or their time spent helping students.

During the Mother's Day lunch, father and daughter talk about the upcoming primary election for U.S. Senator and the movies of Clint Eastwood. The next week the author gets a call from his twin sister, who lives in Portland, Oregon, postponing a planned visit to the east because of a fall.

During a tutoring session at the Library, the author finds an unclaimed paperback edition of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." He decides to keep it to read. When not tutoring, the author enjoys listening to music, watching movies.

His 3 daughters, Jane, Kate, and Tess, are divorced, live in the Philadelphia area. Each has 2 grown children. The author's son, his youngest, lives in Austin, Texas with a wife and 3 daughters, 12, 10, and 7.

The author's 4 children are interested in all Philadelphia sports teams and call him occasionally about wins and losses. These calls are a source of much pleasure.