Our Friends on Slough Pond

Update on Earl: So far, Earl has not knocked out the power. Earl has not even made the leaves quiver. No waves to speak of at the ocean. Just fog. My daughter tried to get us to leave the Cape, but we decided to stay, and it's a good thing we did. Above, two other souls who braved the storm. On the left, Elspeth Macdonald. In the center, her husband, Nick. And, to the right, my husband Sven.

On Wednesday, Sven and I had dinner at the Macdonalds' house on Slough Pond. Elspeth is holding vegetables from my garden. Nick's mom Nancy was my godmother, my mom's best friend, and the reason my parents bought our house, ie. to be where Nancy was in the summer. Talk about friendship!

Nancy passed away half a dozen years ago. My godmother was one of the finest people I have ever known. She founded Spanish Refugee Aid, and, gave away all her money in the process of helping refugees form the Spanish Civil War. As a younger woman, Nancy was the angel for Partisan Review. In Freshman English, we had to read Against the American Grain, the book that made ex-husband Dwight famous. Dwight and Nancy allowed their sons to go skinny-dipping, which, for some reason, did not appeal to my parents, so I did not really get to know Nick and his brother until we were all grown-ups.

I called Elspeth and Nick when I heard how bad the hurricane would be, to see whether the two of them would prefer to come over here and not be so isolated in the woods, even to sleep over. They declined, but expressed deep appreciation.

"The Macdonald/Grabbe friendship continues through the generations, I note," Elspeth said ...