The Importance of Memory

"It was bitter being back here," he writes. "I could have wept for those two children, sitting still as bunnies before that ancient long-ago landfill Chinese checkerboard" He recalls the subtle but specific smell of the marbles from the Chinese checker set and the sound of deck umbrella made when it landed on its tip. A button on one of mom's coats so lozenge-like I felt an urge to ingest it; a faded Yosemite travel pennant with a black spot situated near the bottom of El Capitan.