These will be random thoughts I picked up in the course of my reading and stashing - like a squirrel or a magpie, not sure which. Come along with me.
So - ambiguous loss is a term apparently adopted by psychologists to differentiate between a death without a body, like someone drowning and the body not recovered in time for a funeral (this happened to a friend of ours years ago) or the disappearance of a loved one, usually a mate, into Alzheimer's while still a living body (most of you will have witnessed this, as I have). This is when you painfully discover the meaning of closure, and its necessity.
cobblestones: I read a brief and fascinating report that walking on cobblestones is good for you, especially if you are over 60 years of age. Walking on a path of smooth rounded cobblestones for just half an hour a day , over a period of four months lowers blood pressure and improves balance. Of course, no random news item like that carries any credibility without reference to an authority, preferably with caps. Scientists from the Oregon Research Institute took a look at cobblestones after they saw people walking on such paths in China. I guess you can't make that up. I also guess it's pretty hard to come by cobblestones where you live.
I came across a mini-editorial recalling Alvin Toffler's prescience when he labelled the media's unrelenting ominous reports "information overload" (40 years ago). One cannot help but be depressed and anxious at all the threatening news predicting inexorable doom. The article goes on to praise novels for the understanding they offer to help us confront our fears and relationships. I saved this little squib as a kind of security blanket to comfort me when the daily reports are ominous and sleep-threatening. Hang onto your heart.
I also don't know where I got this little piece of wisdom but I wrote it down and commented: "You cannot keep the view by taking the window with you." It made me think of the novice fisherman who marked the side of his boat so he could find the spot again where the fish were biting so well. I think we all do that. We try to hang on to a good thing with ineffectual means. Better to take memory.
Well, that used up four little pieces of paper.
More to come.