My grandmother  

The absences are getting longer, but often they can't be helped; life has become much more difficult lately. Among the reasons for this is the recent death of my grandmother, who I wanted to mention here because she's appeared before on this blog. She was a tough cookie, and I'm confident she could have taken Will Baude to the mat given the chance for a rematch. Among other things, I will miss her stories about immigrating to the US, her constant reminders about the nutritive value of avocados, and our many games of Scrabble.