A life
A life well lived
A life well lived for a long time

Spunky,
Always learning,
Always growing,
(except in height)
Always pushing the boundaries
Of what it means
To be a woman
In a yacht club
In a college
In a profession.
To be a person.

And the stories
(oh the stories)
A letter full of spelling mistakes
(from a spelling-bee winner)
Kept for decades
Touted as her favorite letter.
Working in the general store
Her father owned
But banned from interacting with customers
Because of that one time she threw a potato at one.
Wearing witch stickers,
Being a dog magnet,
(when she didn’t really like dogs),
And the one I got to experience:
Staring at a piece of art for a long time
Asking ‘Who did that?’
And when we said ‘You did!’
Her response was,
‘I thought I liked it.’

Let’s raise a glass
(of Vernors)
To Jean Jackson Price.