Mucho Gracias, SilviaC in Barcelona

It was the first Sunday after the New Year. My granddaughter, Talia, was visiting Barcelona. She texted me this message:

Nana: I was sitting in a plaza reading and this woman stopped and asked me what I was reading and asked if she could take my pic and a pic of the book because she was interested in what people read and why. She asked a few questions, took my picture and left.

Talia was reading my memoir, Not Yet! The random woman in Barcelona had an Instagram account focused on books; @SilviaC posted the following message in Spanish.

English Translation:

Sunday, January 5th. Epiphany Eve.

The afternoon is warm for this time of year, "a fall in love afternoon" (as one of my favorite radio hosts would say). The square is quiet, with no children playing, and people take advantage of the timid rays of sun to read, chat in a relaxed manner... The people who are having a vermouth at midday have given way to the first after-dinner coffees of this first Sunday of the year.

Talia is visiting the city. She lived here a few years ago, but now resides in New York. She is in no hurry, so she has sat on the steps of the Church of San Joan, which is presided over by the Virreina... She is relaxed, enjoying this small moment of tranquility in the square.

She is reading the memoirs of the actress Sally-Jane Heit, who happens to be her grandmother...

How many new things will she be discovering about herself on each page?

I head to the store and can't help but think: I wish we could all hold in our hands a book of memories from our grandparents or parents, written by themselves, so we could preserve their memory and pass it on to the next generation.

Happy Sunday afternoon.💜

I fear the loss of connectivity in the human condition, and when something like this happens, I am happily surprised to find myself less afraid.

Usually, I think the internet is both sides of the same coin, devil/angel. Actually, I am beginning to think it’s neither. It’s a machine. Like the telephone and the automobile, it’s the humans that work machines that give it direction. The person at the computer, the iPad, and the iPhone heralding their thoughts that will either bring “us” together or tear “us” apart.

I don’t know Silvia C in Barcelona, but I’d love to meet her and give her a hug and thank her for her singular effort in bringing “us” together.

Love, Sally-Jane

P.S. And, oh, yes, I also want to thank her for opening the European market to my memoir… 😂🤣