Thank you for the kind words. Publishing the story online more than scratches my itch. As someone noted at my own blog, it reminds us to hold those dear to us near to us.

P.S. It also has a fairly good chance of avoiding a mud slinging fest in the comments, and for that I thank you.

From the Oxford English Dictionary:

“A pronounced loop-like bend (usually one of a series) in the course of a slow-moving river, tending to become more exaggerated as a result of erosion of the bank on the outside of the curve and deposition on the inside.”