J. Collins Kerr

The Lone Cypress: a Portrait of Aunt Phyllis J. Collins Kerr

Many people probably didn't think that Phyllis was anything special. Single lady that lived alone all of her life. No kids. No husband. No grand career. But Phyllis had an active inner life along with an adventuresome spirit that led her into all sorts of situations. She worked for the American Embassy in Spain and Greece just after World War II, biked and skied around Europe with her dog Chispa, worked with famous midcentury Modernist architect E. Stuart Williams, had movie legend Pepe Serna for a landlord, and once had to have José Greco do her plumbing! And on a hair-thin budget she managed to survive and weather the storms that one has in life, all while supporting those less fortunate. She indeed was special to those around her. This book of poetry and escapades is a revelation about the uniqueness of us all, if we just look hard enough to find it. . . . and Phyllis thought to herself, . . . "Here I am, drinking whiskey and dancing with a man who is an almost total stranger in a night club in Basel, Switzerland, at three in the morning. Not bad for a middle-aged school teacher from California"