A note from a friend arrived in the mail on Saturday; it reminded me that this time of the year can be tricky for those who have had a spouse die, and the date of the death is coming up.
A recent newspaper article about Neil Young drew me in. Young and Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) have collaborated on a new concert film, Neil Young Journeys, that played Saturday at Slamdance Film Festival, a rival showcase to Sundance.
My late husband, James Groves, loved Neil Young and that reminded me of our road trips, blasting music and having great fun.
I moved on and noticed another article I was interested in, Sharon La Cruise’s feature-length documentary on Daisy Gatson Bates: First Lady of Little Rock. I was reminded that James worked with La Cruise on this project, and told me all about it.
The documentary premieres on the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens at 9 p.m. Feb. 2.
Last week James’ sister reminded me that Fort Chaffee was getting ready for an exhibit of the Cuban riot that happened in 1980. James, who was working for the Fort Smith newspaper, was at the site just at the right time and one particular photo of rioting Cubans made it around the world. James got the confidence to branch out for a multitude of projects.
And wouldn’t you know it, when I got in the car this morning Neil Young was singing “…vDon’t let it bring you down, it’s only castles burning, find someone who’s turning and you will come around.”
I don’t know how these things come in droves. But they do.