Goodnight, sweet prince.

A List of Things Eric Gryba’s Beard is Like

– A 1969 Corvette Stingray

– The smell of pine needles in fall

– Your father’s strong, reassuring hand on your shoulder

– Ernest Hemingway’s typewriter

– Sitting in first class on a trans-Atlantic flight

– The antique ski lift of an alpine retreat

– A sunrise over a small Nova Scotian fishing village

– The clarinet glissando at the beginning of Rhapsody in Blue

– The Baseball Hall of Fame

– Eating a trout you caught off the deck of your cottage

– The sound a fresh can of tennis balls makes when you open it

– Taking your parents out for dinner after your first real paycheque

– The Hubble Deep Field

– Being the first skater on an untouched sheet of ice

– A baby’s laughter

– Your first kiss

– Your last kiss

– A small act of kindness done in secret

– A bearskin rug in front of a roaring fireplace in a winter cabin. A bottle of Woodford Reserve is placed unopened on the mahogany coffee table. Outside it begins to snow.