In the Oct. 12 installment of The Saratogian's special Breast Cancer Awareness Month special sections (on pink paper, wrapping the regular news, sports and classifieds), breast cancer survivor Lisa Morahan says she hopes everyone takes the time to observe the wonderof a rainbow, like the one that graced the sky last Thursday.

I happened to see it, too, and pointed it out to the workmen on the never-ending construction job next door so they could enjoy it as well. I felt the same way this evening, admiring the sliver of a moon. It is well worth taking the time to appreciate these gifts. After all, life is short.

On Sunday, my siblings and father and I met in Queens for the unveiling of my uncle's tombstone, a Jewish tradition that comes a year or so after the deceased is laid to rest. After some prayers and words of remembrance, as we headed back to our cars, my father and his sister had just enough time to start a little squabble among themselves. Really? At 80 and 81 (they're only 13 months apart)?

Our next stop was down the road, to their mother -- my grandmother's -- grave. My father and aunt were very close to their mother for all of her 88 years, and though she's been gone for 30 years now, I know Dad talks to her frequently. "So," I asked him as we left the cemetery and headed toward my aunt's house. "Did your mother have anything to say to you today?"

"Yes," Dad replied without missing a beat. "She told me not to fight with my sister."

The rest of the visit was as beautiful as a rainbow.