This story is dedicated to my Aunt Frances, (April 18, 1943-July 8, 2004) who had her heart shattered at an early age, and was never the same again.  She struggled with heartbreaking and heartrending grief the rest of her life and never got over her loss, the love of her life, culminating in an emotional and nervous breakdown at age sixteen.  She fought mental illness for the rest of her 50+ years.  These things about her younger life and her lost love were snippets of a conversation I overheard years ago about her and why she was the way she was.  I thank Angie Branam, the Activity Director, at Sells Rest Home, in Matthews, Missouri, for writing me a letter soon after Frances’ death and telling me about Frances’ years there.  I’ve incorporated most of that...

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