Aunt Dottie died Thursday. Since Uncle Herb always seemed engergetic, indestructible and unchanging (rather like shoe leather ; he's already outlived his youngest brother -- my father -- by close to twenty years) , it's probably not surprising that she was the first of to pass. I'd half-thought that they'd outlive me. But the older generation insists on continuing to get older.

The funeral is in Philadelphia on Tuesday. A deliberate (geographical) separation from family chosen more than two decades ago now shows its disadvantages. BOS-PHL return for BBA = $156.50. SFO-PHL return for me = $1,700 to $2,400. On the other side of the scale is the knowledge that they both travelled to San Francisco for my wedding and the admission that I've not made much effort to maintain contact with the extended family. Money versus guilt, basically. Which produces stress. I'm not planning to move back to the east coast in the forseeable future so I'd best find a way to deal with that stress.