Editor’s Note:  We’re thrilled to present this preview excerpt from Jane Goldman’s upcoming book, a collection of essays and reflections on growing older, that will be published this spring by The Three Tomatoes Publishing. We will be working with a few select authors whose books will appeal to “tomatoes” to get them published via Amazon’s self-publishing platform and promoted via The Three Tomatoes. If you have a manuscript and are interested, contact us at tomato@thethreetomatoes.com

THE DASH

By Jane Goldman

Our birth date belongs to our parents. Our death date belongs to our mourners. What belongs to each of us is the dash in between, which generally appears to be the same size in the obituary columns. But how does that length feel?

Can it feel longer if we experience the dash with great passion? Can it feel shorter if it is consumed with feelings of anger or envy? Does it matter how long or short it feels if it is filled with lots of love?

Where am I in my dash? I have passed my b. date by many, many years, and I am making my way all too quickly to my d. date.

I did not live in much of my dash as me. My parents lived in part of it for me, my lovers, my friends, even my employers, whom I wished to please, lived in other parts.

But recently I began to intrude myself more into my dash, making it more my own. The line is feeling fuller now and whether or not it will stretch out for a long time, I will soon be its sole inhabitant. As such, I feel very much alive and the d. date feels very far away.

Jane Goldman is a true Renaissance woman. For many years, she was General Counsel-Vice President of Warner Bros Distributing Corporation and thereafter litigation counsel to its parent company, Time Warner Inc. She now pursues and lives her passions which include painting, sculpting, music and writing. In addition, she won a Drama Desk Award as associate producer of the hit comedy “Celebrity Autobiography”. She received her BA from Barnard College and her law degree from NYU.  Her book of essays and reflections on growing older will be published spring 2019, by The Three Tomatoes Publishing.