It's early morning, the day after Penny Diane Carpenter's death.
I shall always be in awe of my wife's indescribable courage, her immeasurable grace, her extraordinary humanity -- her remarkable consistency of high spirit, no matter the vagaries of life. I'm grateful for every minute she tolerated me and my far lesser qualities. I loved her madly, and shall miss her madly.
I shall also be taking some time off from commenting on the advancing vulgarities of modern politics. Not too much time, for though my wife detested the pettiness of what she knew should be the honorable art of governance, she delighted in my incurable amusements. Indeed, she insisted I continue casting my own vulgarities right till the end. I cope, perhaps, in peculiar ways, and she embraced them out of characteristic selflessness.
My God, what emptiness. I shall miss her so very madly.
--Phil Carpenter