BIRTHDAY WEEK IN HEAVEN

 

THE LOVED ONES

The loved ones we call the dead
depart from us and for a while
are absent. And then as if
called back by our love, they come
near us again. They enter our dreams.
We feel they have been near us
when we have not thought of them.
They are simply here, simply waiting 
while we are distracted among
our obligations. At last
it comes to us: They live now
in the permanent world.
We are the absent ones.

Wendell Berry

1934 - 2026

American poet and novelist

SUMMER APPLES

 I planted an apple tree in memory

of my mother, who is not gone, 

 

but whose memory has become

so transparent that she remembers

 

slicing apples with her grandmother

(yellow apples; blue bowl) better than

 

the fruit that I hand her today. Still,

she polishes the surface with her thumb,

 

holds it to the light and says with no

hesitation, Oh, Yellow Transparent . . . 

 

they're so fragile, you can almost see

to the core. She no longer remembers how

 

to roll the crust, sweeten the sauce, but

her desire is clear—it is pie that she wants.

 

And so, I slice as close as I dare to the core—

to that little cathedral of memory—where

 

the seeds remember everything they need

to know to become yellow and transparent.

by Cathryn Essinger

 

 

SIBLINGS

"Siblings that say they never fight are most definitely hiding something."

Lemony Snicket

Pen name of American author Daniel Handler.   1970 - 

Photo taken 31 October 2021

LEGACY

“We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done.” PSALM 78:4

It is a blessing to be able to visit often and decorate the graves of my parents and grandparents.  In fact, there are several great aunts and uncles in the same section of Arlington Memorial Park, which leads me to believe my Linch grandfather was thinking *legacy* 

I am thankful that my parents were vocal and intentional with their faith, leading by example and by instruction.  I believe that they prayed for their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren by name.  I know one of my mother's prayers was that the disobedient would *get caught,* and thereby, be able to made amends sooner.

There exists a fantastic library to be shared, full of Bible commentaries and treastises to read and study.

It is a double blessing when you are related by blood (cognate) to those with whom you are related in Christ.

"And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. "JOHN 17:3

 

Linch, Albert O., Dr.

The Jackson Progress-Argus March 10, 1960

Dr. A. O. Linch, Butts County GA Native, Buried At Arlington Memorial Park, Atlanta

     Dr. Albert O. Linch, prominent Atlanta doctor and native of Butts County, being born at Flovilla on December 17, 1901, was buried at Arlington Cemetery Sunday afternoon, February 28. Funeral services had been held at Spring Hill with Dr. Nat G. Long, pastor of the Druid Hills Methodist Church and Dr. Louie D. Newton, pastor of the Druid Hills Baptist Church officiating.
     Dr. Linch had been in declining health from a heart ailment for a long time which dated back 10 years ago when he suffered a heart attack following a strenuous day of surgery at a U. S. Military Hospital in France. He had volunteered his services soon after Pearl Harbor and served more than four years with the Army Medical Corps. He landed with the first invasion forces in North Africa, saw duty on the Anzio Beachhead and at Monte Casino, then became a casualty himself as his unit, the 43rd General Hospital known as the Emory Unit, moved northward with General Patch's Army through central France.
     Dr. Linch was invalided home and warned by his medical colleagues that unless he gave up his professional career he could not live but a short while. Despite this prediction, he resumed the practice until the day before he died. He was at his office ministering to his patients when the final attack came on Thursday and he died the following day, February 26, at a private hospital.
     Following his graduation from high school, he began a two year pre-med course at the University of Georgia and graduated from Emory Medical College in 1925. He began practicing medicine in Atlanta in 1927 following his internship at Grady Hospital.
     Dr. Linch lived at 835 Oakdale Road, N.E. and was a Steward of Druid Hills Methodist Church. He was a former president of the Fulton County Medical Society, a member of the American College of Surgeons and the American Medical Association. He was also a member of the Medical Association of Georgia, Fifth District Medical Society, Phi Beta Pi Medical Fraternity, Yaarab Temple of the Shrine, and the Atlanta Athletic Club.
     Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Dorcas Giles Linch; daughter, Mrs. W. D. Jordan, Atlanta; sister, Mrs. B. P. Stovall, Atlanta, and Miss Eugenia Linch, Winston Salem, N. C.; brothers, W. E. Linch, Rome; H. L. Linch, Atlanta; Frank Linch, editor and publisher of the Weekly Advertiser, McDonough; Samuel H. Linch, of Silver Springs, Md., and three grandchildren.

Remembering JS Jordan, Sr, MD