From my column archives, originally running in July of 2012, now updated slightly…
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“My kids. Nick. Spring. Fall. Waffles. The concept of waffles. Bacon.”
These are the first few things writer-filmmaker Nora Ephron listed in her short essay titled “What I Will Miss” in her fine, and final, book: “I Remember Nothing And Other Reflections.”
Also: “A walk in the park. The idea of a walk in the park. The park. Shakespeare in the Park. The bed. Reading in bed.”
It is a superb essay, like all of Ephron’s writing, but when I read it – not in bed, for I am not an in-bed reader – I remember thinking it seemed out of place; she was too young; this piece was for a future book.
I had missed the clues that seem so obvious now, such as the previous essay “What I Won’t Miss” (“Dry skin. E-mail. Funerals. Small print…”) and the Acknowledgements page that concluded, “And also, of course, my doctors.”
Like the marvelous writer she was, Ephron had told us without telling us. She was battling leukemia. A battle she lost the first week of summer in 2012 at age 71.
Here is what I hope, that Ephron wrote “What I Will Miss” long before she first became ill, under a different title, perhaps “What I Love Now.” Such a list is something we should all write, right now, whatever our age, to help us more fully appreciate these things today.
In this spirit here is a short list, off the top of my head, of “What I Love Now”…
My four young grandchildren. My two kids and their spouses. My wife. Family and great friends – and Murray, our boxer, who is both. (Murray, sadly, is now on my “What I Miss Now” list.)
The beach. The ocean. “The Old Man And The Sea.”
The Ventura Pier. The Channel Islands. A Pacific sunset with clouds painted in the sky the colors of flames.
Yosemite Falls. Niagara Falls. The fall colors.
Summer. Daylight Saving Time. Watching fireworks on the Fourth of July.
The smell of sunscreen, the smell in the air after it rains, the smell of Thanksgiving all afternoon long.
Fleetwood Mac. The Beatles. The Who. James Taylor.
Running along the beach, any beach; in a park, especially New York’s Central Park; in the sun, in the rain, in a road race; and the adventures of running in a new place.
Every book by my hero John Steinbeck, my daughter Dallas Woodburn, and my dearest of friends Ken McAlpine.
Newspapers. (Sadly, again, these are rapidly joining my “I Miss” list.)
A hot shower. A warm bed. A cold pint. Not in that order.
John Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” and my favorite Wooden-ism: “Make each day your masterpiece.”
The last moments awake in bed after a long, full, masterpiece day. Even better with the sound of rain on the roof.
The sound of Vin Scully on the radio. (“I Miss.”)
Date nights. Van Gogh’s Starry Night. A personal museum of paintings by my son.
The simple grace and quiet strength of trees and rivers – and some people. People who have empathy and authenticity. Curious people who never stop learning.
Chocolate-chip ice cream. Chocolate-chip cookies. Chocolate chips. Chocolate.
Finishing writing something that I feel is as good as I can do.
Movies, which for this list today seems fitting to pick three by Nora Ephron, even though I get them confused: “When Harry Met Sally”, “Sleepless In Seattle”, and “You’ve Got Mail.”
And yes, waffles instead of pancakes, definitely.
My grandchildren. My kids and their spouses. Lisa. I know I already said this, but I want to emphasize it.
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Essay copyrights Woody Woodburn
Woody’s new novel “The Butterfly Tree” is now available in paperback and eBook at Amazon (click here), other online bookstores, and is orderable at all bookshops.
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Woody writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn.