July 8: Woe for Months, Poet Friend, Sophia

Merton deals with heartbreak and despair . . .

However, I could not sleep for long.  At five o'clock I was up again, and walking restlessly around the deck.  It was hot.  A grey mist lay on the Narrows.  But when it became light, other anchored ships began to appear as shapes in the mist.  One of them was a Red Star liner on which, as I learned from the papers when I got on shore, a passenger was at that precise moment engaged in hanging himself.

At the last minute before landing I took a snapshot of her which, to my intense sorrow, came out blurred.  I was so avid for a picture of her that I got too close with the camera and it was out of focus.  It was a piece of poetic justice that filled me with woe for months.

The source of Merton's despair is, of course, a teenage first love gone bad.  All he has to show for his ten-day affair is a blurry photo and months of ennui.  Throw into that mix a distant suicide, and this little passage from The Seven-Storey Mountain has the makings of a pretty decent John Green novel. 

Tonight, I want to write about Lisa, a poet friend of mine, who experienced some tragedy of her own this past weekend.  Her granddaughter and her granddaughter's mother lost their home and all of their belongings in a house fire.  It happened on a night where both of them were away from the house, so no one was hurt.  Thank goodness.

My friend has set up an account to accept for donations for them.  Here is her Facebook post:

In response to those wishing to help I have opened an account at the U.P. State Credit Union . They by the way were amazing to work with! Thank you Renee & Brad! The account is for Darci Blanton & Sophia Fosmo / fire relief fund. Checks can be sent or money dropped off. Thank you all for the outpouring of prayers love and help . It is all so greatly appreciated. As you know just days ago they lost everything in a fire, we are grateful for their lives. We know things can be replaced and memories are are always with us. Thank you all so very much for your kindness!

The address to send any donations:

          U. P. State Credit Union
          2501 First Avenue North
          Escanaba, MI 49829
          906-786-1146

I've been writing a lot about miracles in these last few weeks of the pandemic.  Now is your chance to be a miracle in a little girl's life.  Please consider sending a donation to help out Sophia and her mother.  All of us have spent these past months feeling sorry for ourselves for not being able to get our hair done or gather with friends at bars and restaurants.  I know my little losses pale in comparison to what this little girl has lost.

So, let's send some miracles to Sophia.

And for all of you miracle-givers out there, Saint Marty thanks you!