Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg One thing is for sure: SaddleBrookians like their music/entertainment! Whether attending the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra (SASO) or other concerts in the DesertView Theater for the Performing Arts, listening to groups perform at one of our wonderful clubs, going to plays or readings or attending any number of music venues in…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg I did not expect The Envelope to arrive so soon. It languished on our kitchen granite countertop for hours, and then my husband arrived home. “I cannot open The Envelope,” I said with a voice tinged with fear. “Would you?” “Sure,” he said in a cheerful voice. I heard the…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg It’s not easy breaking habits because, for the most part, many of us hold onto them to maintain order in our lives or to sustain certain memories. I mention this because, as my mother did, I do our washing every Monday! There is something very rhythmic about my following in my…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg “There are places I remember All my life though some have changed Some forever not for better Some have gone and some remain All these places have their moments With lovers and friends, I still can recall Some are dead and some are living In my life I’ve loved them…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg She stood on the steps of the white gazebo that overlooked the serene lake and began to ruminate about the last 24 hours; a profound, heavy sadness overcame her. He was her touch stone, her confidant and her strength. She wondered how she would go on without him. She met…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Ever since I was a little girl I enjoyed being in the kitchen. I must admit that the very first time I had that tactile experience of forming something “food like” was when I was about six years old and I made mud pies! I was hooked by the feeling of…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg The call came at 6:00 a.m. My mother-in-law, Joan, who was in the Casa de la Luz Inpatient Hospital, had passed away during the night. Arrangements were quickly made to fly back to Ohio for the burial. We flew on a noted airline, departing out of Phoenix, ostensibly to fly the…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg “Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” Clarence, It’s a Wonderful Life. Life was good for Ted Swartzberg and his family during the early part of the 20th Century. Eventually, however, life would have other plans for…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves; it is not my nature.” Jane Austin I first met Anne at Ohio University; Anne was one of my college roommates. Anne was wonderfully outgoing and friendly and I…
Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg “How do you feel?” I asked my husband as the nurse helped him into the passenger side of my car. “Better than I did prior to the test,” he said. I could see that he was still groggy and shaky, the after effects of the twilight medicine that was given to…