mom

Symbols. Crisis in Chinese Symbols.

Several years ago when my mom was in the hospital, I was sitting in the hallway overwrought. A Chinese doctor (nothing to do with mom's case) walked by and sat down next to me. He was very kind.. At the end of the conversation he took out a pen and wrote the word Crisis on a piece of paper; then he penned the two symbols that make up the word. Those two words are "danger" and "opportunity."

He told me that I would not full appreciate this meaning then because of my sadness but eventually I would. And I did.

A year and a half after my mom passed I was PR person for Connecticut Ballet's contemporary ballet company, Zig Zag. One of the first ballet's they did was titled "Crisis" and the choreographer had the Chinese symbols in giant letters flashed on the curtains before the beginning of the show.

Wonderful and pertinent symbols. The scarf, pearls, lipstick and makeup case were my mom's.