Visiting Doris Feinland

Today, Ellen and I drove down to Stamford, Connecticut to visit Doris Feinland. She has been sitting Shiva this week and she has had three of her children with her: Jerry Feinland, and her two daughters Laura and Robin. They were all there today and we didn't have a lot of time but we had a good visit and it was really wonderful to be there with them during this time of really missing Ray very much. They had a life-sized portrait of Ray, a photograph which Laura had taken last summer, sitting on a chair in the living room and it was really so touching to feel that Ray was right there with us. There was lots of food, so we had lunch with them, and they loved the cookies Ellen brought. Next week, Doris will return to Florida, because she hates winter, but she will be alone. She has always depended heavily on Ray, so only time will tell how that is going to work out. Jerry had to get back to his medical practice after being away for a couple of weeks - he went to Florida when Ray went into the hospital - so we took him home to Northhampton on our way back to Vermont. That gave us a chance for a good talk in the car. We got home in time for a second session of visio divina, this time with Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son, and also our Uncanny Journeys course, this session on Dostoievski's Notes from the Underground. I'll try to report on those sessions tomorrow.

A remarkably life-like portrait of Ray!

Doris' apartment with Laura in the foreground