Happy 100th Birthday to the fabulous Margo Kurtz

While I was working with Swoosie Kurtz on her memoir Part Swan, Part Goose: An Uncommon Memoir of Womanhood, Work, and Family, I got to know her mom, Margo Kurtz, who turns 100 years old today.

Margo's advancing dementia has changed both their lives, but she still has a remarkable grace about her. The poetic way she expresses herself now has the same lyric spirit that shines through in her memoir, My Rival, the Sky, published by Putnam in 1945 and rereleased as an ebook by Perigee last year.

Every time I see Margo, she's delighted to meet me, and I always tell her, "I read your book, Margo, and I really loved it. You're such a wonderful writer." She's always surprised and thrilled to hear it.

"You just made me so happy," she said last time I saw her. "And what do you do, darling?"

I told her, "I'm a writer like you."

"Oh, then you know," said Margo, "the way words come out of their cocoons."

Margo is still remarkably Margo, but her health and happiness, her longevity and everything that makes every day worth living, is a tribute to Swoosie's tender loving care. They both continue to inspire and amaze me.

Happy Birthday, Margo!