A beloved nearly ninety-eight-year-old aunt of mine passed on recently. She was the last of a generation that included aunts and uncles and parents in both my husband’s and my families. Often referred to as the ‘greatest generation’ they lived through WW11, the great depression, and so on. Now we have taken the place of those pilgrims who tread the earth and now exist in another realm. We are ‘on the way’.
One of us, our generation, passed through and joined those souls almost two years ago. Last week, his widow, our dear neighbor, moved out of the neighborhood, and in cleaning out years of things, came upon a book of poetry with inspiring photographs by Russell G. Terra: On the Way: thoughts for pilgrims. In just 106 pages, he revealed his pilgrimage on earth, his spiritual Way. She handed me the book just before leaving her home.
After reading the poems with accompanying photos, I googled him and came upon a biography by Fr. John E. Boll in the archives of the Sacramento Diocese. Just as the book of poems impressed me, the biography drew me to pursue his life further.
I ordered the only available copy of the book of poems on amazon to give to a poet friend of mine. My next blog will reveal some interesting facts about Russ, found in the 37 page biography.
DJ Pasternak, Author 