Seven weeks today and Maria is still in the front seat of my brain. You, me, any of us that knew Maria knows what I mean. For example, Henry pulled out a toy box today and there was one of those little white bears that had been a part of my Christmas, was it four years ago? Maria and Helene had gone to a Museum and had run into "Fluxus" and then Maria had developed the idea of a fluxus Christmas gift exchange. We met at her house in Germantown and all drew names, I think it might have been after Thanksgiving dinner. I got Paul and Helene and Maria got Timmy and me. Well on Christmas I got a note with a white bear attached, with the only Fluxus instructions was that there were five more bears hidden around Tivoli. Now this bear is only about 2-3 inches long and Tivoli is an area of one square mile. Well, we found one in a bush down at the river, a regular stop on our Sunday walk. Weeks later another one was found on Sengstack Lane, tied to a pussy willow bush. The third one was hard and Maria gave us a hint that it was close to home and Timmy found it in one of the maple trees in our yard. Weeks went by and another bear was found...this one might have been by the water tower - I've forgotten exactly where it was. Now it was into March and there was still one bear at loose in Tivoli. "Give me a hint", I begged Maria and she said it's hidden in a place you like to go to. I looked at her and asked, "The Black Swan?" and that smile gave her away. That night Margaret and I went to the Black Swan, a local Irish bar that used to serve great fish and chips. Margaret and I bent down, looking under the tables and chairs, searching behind the pictures, trying not to look too conspicuous. Finally, the bartender asked us what we were doing and I said, "Have you seen a little white bear around here?" He wasn't even surprised, just opened the cash register and reached in and pulled out the bear. "It's been here for months. I wondered who put it there." Margaret and I had big, black wonderful Guinnesses to celebrate and I called Maria when I got home and told her all the bears were back together. Now, how can you ever forget a girl like Maria?