In Memory of Marianne Faithfull

The soul chewed its lip nervously. "I just have to find your name; should only take a moment," Peter said (in a comforting tone). But the soul was fidgety and leaned in close to whisper. "What if my name's not on the list? I mean ..." Peter smiled. "Everyone is proud of you; everyone liked your music and your acting and, really, your way," he said gently. "Oh, no, it's not that," the soul said (confident and very much itself even now). "I played You Know Who a couple of times on television ... and I wonder if that counted against me?" Peter, finding the name, looked at a jotting in the margin. "Oh, right," he replied. "Says here that you - and I quote, 'Did a pretty good job; laughed out loud'." The soul relaxed, leaning against the podium. "Well, that's a relief. I had a great time doing it, actually; lots of laughs. Well, not at anyone's expense, of course ... " and it shook itself out of the dither and walked in, as it had done in a million earthly situations (head up, shoulders back, owning its past, and curious about the next thing).