I was searching through a drawer the other day, trying to find someone's lost address, and found a cache of paper stubs bundled up with a rubber band. The top scrap was yellow with age and ragged around the edges. Written on it in a neat, matter-of-fact cursive was a message:
Nancy,
Call me if you need an ear or a place to stay.
XXOO
The note was unsigned and undated.
Several days later I'm still wondering who wrote that note and what was happening to me that was so dreadful I might need an ear or a place to stay.
THE GOOD LISTENER, 2020, oil on canvas, 24” x 18”
A version of this blog post originally appeared on January 15, 2015.