Twisted Sister

My sister Jan is crazy in a very good way. She’s petite and feisty and has a heart the size of Georgia, Alabama and both North and South Carolina combined (including the outer banks of North Carolina and Georgia’s string of barrier islands). Jan adores animals and has rescued and loved approximately 1,615,927 cats, dogs, ferrets, birds and one mouse named Algernon. And she loves, loves, loves our Mom’s coleslaw (of all things. What about the Divinity candy, the 3-layer Italian Cream Cake and the Strawberry Pies?! Jan isn’t a lover of sweets—but vegetables she puts on her wish list.)

When Jan read my blog about Dervla Murphy, she searched the net and found Dervla’s autobiography, “Wheels Within Wheels.” The original copy printed by Penguin Press!!! It arrived today taped and wrapped and taped and wrapped some more, encased in a USPS international mail envelope, which arrived surprisingly fast and for not much money. Less than $8 US to send the envelope. I love this book and the thought behind this book being wrapped and taped and wrapped some more by my “big sister” (she’s only 14-months older than me and won’t let me forget it).

I miss hearing Jan’s jokes and the way she laughs at her own jokes with total abandon, her face mirthful from forehead to dimpled chin, eyes alight. Perhaps if I make her some coleslaw she’ll share every joke in her repertoire (even the twisted ones, even the raunchy ones) when home for Christmas. That’s the first item on my wish list.