the red thread
i. i have had over a dozen eye surgeries, starting in my early twenties. i've always needed glasses-- thick, coke-bottle lenses-- and then, suddenly, as my retinas began collapsing, surgeries. i was terrified i would lose my vision-- i'm a teacher, a reader, a writer-- the thought of never being able to read a novel on my own again made my teeth ache right down into my stomach. i have lost the ability to read out of my right eye, but i still have my left. my depth perception is way off; parallel parking is impossible. i have figured out how to paint my own nails, though-- very important for a high femme witch. me after surgery one billion my beau did my eyeliner for me since i couldn't see ii. i had an italian grandfather who would not or could not teach his children his own first language, and so searching for cultural legacy & ancestral gifts is an exercise in hypothesis. ("who needs to know?" is a common question in italian-american households. as
