In Memoriam--Virginia Marie Boyle (Jones)
In January 2023, Virginia Marie Boyle nee Jones passed away. I have tried, over the course of the time since then to write something about Mom. The problem, I have come to realize, is that I was trying to write something that described who she was. That is, I have come to see, an impossible project. It can't be done, at least not by me. Instead, what I can do is describe who she was to me . I can only tell you what she was from my albeit narrow and singular point of view, and not try to occupy some sort of objective perspective. I can only talk about her in a personal, and perhaps even narcissistic, way. And so, this is what I will to do here. Let me start at the end, and work my way back to the beginning. Prior to January 2023, I have never lost someone who had the significance in my life equivalent to Mom. A friend was killed in a car accident when I was 8, and I lost my maternal grandparents at 13 and 23, respectively (my pa...