Birthday Shout Out: Ernestine Briggs

Ernestine Briggs
June 25, 1925- October 31, 2004
Knoxville, TN

Hello, Darling! That was my grandmother's signature greeting. Ernie had big hair, big Auburn hair. She drank coffee, smoked cigarettes, always wore A-line skirts (she'd tell you she had great legs), loved oranges and crystal figurines. Her favorite color was white. My grandmother lived for her children. That was her life. We miss her. I miss her especially today.

I want a real orange that tastes like
sunshine and its juices stick to my fingers.
I want to live long enough to giggle with my babies'
babies and inhale long, sweet breaths.

excerpt from a draft I wrote, "What Do I Want?"