Ghosts of U of O

My friend was a photographer, but I liked taking pictures of her. She had long dark bangs that hung in front of her big dark eyes. That first year at U of O, I snapped a picture of her laughing with a Knack album resting on her knees, and one of her on the lawn outside my dorm, her own camera dangling from a strap in her hand. In another shot, she’s standing in the Pioneer Cemetery, the slanting graves and glowing autumn light behind her, emphasizing her other-worldness, that quality that put her just a little out of reach.

Today the U of O library has a new reading room – a quiet place with cushioned seats set by tall, wide windows that look out onto the cemetery with markers that memorialize a young mother, a judge, an infant son, a Civil War veteran and a young girl who died of diphtheria. Outside, new students pass by, lugging loaded backpacks. They could be on their way to a class or the cafeteria, or maybe to meet a friend....