Thursday, April 30, 2009

306/365: Norma

She was my boss at one of the worst jobs I ever had. It was a family business and I was the only non-family member. When an in-law was hired it caused friction within the family and they all turned on me, as the outsider. My working conditions went from being ideal to being abominable. I was finally told my services were no longer needed.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

305/365: Janne

My friend’s friend. I met her in Australia when I was visiting there and found her a delightful person, who loved building things. She and her dog Molly would go for walks with us in the bush every morning. Even Peggy didn’t know until many years later that she was so claustrophobic she couldn’t handle going to a theater with people around her.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

304/365: Rafael

Rafael was the leader of our second group of Chileans. As leader, he stayed with us. A large man with a hearty laugh who loved to cook. One of my favorite moments from his stay with us was his teaching one of our kids–was it Tom?–how to tie a tie. He moved to Florida but I lost contact with him about ten years ago.

Monday, April 27, 2009

303/365: DeeDee

At one time I thought she and our son Paul would marry. They lived together in a duplex near our own house and watching him with her daughter was so beautiful. They bought me a garlic peeler once. But she left him for a former girlfriend and after Paul died she sent me a lovely scrapbook with photos of Paul playing with her then-baby daughter.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

302/365: Anne #2

She was one of my 3 best friends in high school and was my co-editor of the yearbook. Lovely girl who, presumably, has become a lovely woman. She left high school and became a nurse. Has a couple of kids and lives in So. California. I haven’t seen her in decades, but we still exchange greetings at Christmas. I’d like to see her again someday.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

301/365: Gail

She bought the business for which I worked and I stayed on to teach her how to do medical transcription. We learned WordPerfect together. One day I called in to find out where she was sending me to work that day and she said, “I’ve sold the business; you’ll have to find yourself another job.” I did....but what a shitty way to tell me!

Friday, April 24, 2009

300/365: Brodie

He was there when our first son died (we were flying back from NY at the time). He had just gotten a degree in massage therapy and massaged Dave’s feet as he lay in the hospital bed. His wife was pregnant at the time and when the baby was born, his middle name was David. That baby is almost a teenager now. Hardly seems possible.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

299/365: Cat Lady

We knew each other from the theater and when I volunteered to be a photograher for the SPCA, I ran into her there–she was in charge of cat adoptions. She dragged me onto the SPCA board to do the newsletter. Her dedication to cats is admirable. The last time I was at her house, she must have had a dozen cats there, most awaiting adoption.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

298/365: Mary #5

She was one of the leading contraltos in a Gilbert & Sullivan musical theater company in San Francisco. A lovely lady, so completely UN-like many of the roles she played! After retirement, she moved to Mallorca for many years but she had moved back to California shortly before her death. We corresponded at Christmas and were always “going to get together” for lunch but never did.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

297/365: Bruce

My cousin was a grown man with grey hair before I ever knew he even existed. Which is not that strange since I have about 32 cousins. I met him at our first family reunion. We were in the parking lot and he asked “are we related?” He and his wife were married at the second family reunion at a ceremony performed by another cousin.

Monday, April 20, 2009

296/365: Shirley #2

When I arrived in Davis, there was no La Leche League and so I agreed to get a group started. Shirley became my second in command and we led the group together for many years. She moved 80 miles away many years ago and we haven’t seen each other since, though we exchange Christmas greetings each year–I think her child attends the University here now.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

295/365: Mike #2

He looks like a rabbi but is a devout Christian with many eclectic interests. Our families have shared many adventures together...too many to count. Wherever he goes, it rains. “Follow that car,” a parking lot attendant once told us and we wanted to tell him we had “followed that car” for several hundred miles across the desert. And yes, it rained. In the desert.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

294/365: Patrick

He could not have been a more perfect roommate for Paul. They had music and so much more in common. I’m sorry Paul didn’t stay in school. Patrick once delivered a baby for a woman who had collapsed on the streets of San Francisco, and made headlines. Now he’s a well respected motivational speaker. I see stuff about him on the internet all the time.

Friday, April 17, 2009

293/365: HB

A local artist whose style is definitely to my taste (if I were a collector, I’d collect some of her stuff). She knew our kids and performed at one of our funerals. Unfortunately what she chose was totally inappropriate, but we appreciated the love and the work that went into it. I haven’t seen her in several years now, but she’s a very nice person

Thursday, April 16, 2009

292/365: Ken #2

Lord, was this a creepy guy. The day I met him, he decided to show me a game on his computer. I wanted to be hospitable, so I answered all the questions on his game until they started getting very personal. I had to drive 300 miles with him the next day and was extremly uncomfortable. I’m glad I don’t know where he is now!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

291/365: Mary #4

I knew her from the internet, and only met her once, one of the worst nights of my life. She came to a party being given for us. We were in the back room on the phone learning that our son had been in an accident and wasn’t going to live. She was very nice...and very short! I wish I had known her better.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

290/365: Stephanie

I arranged for a group to donate money to allow her to attend a meeting she couldn’t afford to come to. A month later nobody had heard word one in thanks for their donations. It was not the first time I felt manipulated by her and I was rather miffed. It’s taken me a long time to get past her attitude about the whole thing.

Monday, April 13, 2009

289/365: John #5

What a wonderful talented actor, and a darn nice person too. We were part of a very special production which had a profound on everyone involved. Then he disappeared for a long time and I only recently rediscovered him again, through his brother on Facebook, very happy to know that he’s still a nice guy, still talented and though not acting much, writing a lot.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

288/365: Dougri

Doug Blanchard was a videographer I met when I began posting videos on You Tube. He was an interesting guy, a beatnik type who thought anything good was “kick ass” and who loved Jack Kerouac. He was 10 years younger than I, and so when I received news that he had died it was a great shock. I hope you have a kick-ass eternity, Doug.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

287/365: Bill #7

There was a time when I thought he was gay, but he assures me he’s not. Very sweet, very gentle man who takes good care of his mother, but longs for a woman of his own to love and care for. He’s on a campaign to force himself to get out and find someone and I wish him well. He deserves some happiness and companionship.

Friday, April 10, 2009

286/365: Mrs. T

They had a TV long before our family did, so I always tried to go and hang out with her daughter, so I could watch TV. Especially Superman. Poor Mrs. T was coerced into inviting me to dinner almost every night. I wonder if she enjoyed it as much as I did. I think my mother was embarrassed by how much time I spent there.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

285/365: Carolyn #2

We worked on a project together. When we met we were at the same places in our lives, young married women with small children. The project went well, though we had totally different styles. We went our separate ways at the end. She’s a hard core Republican and I am a staunch Democrat, so I suspect it’s good that we only exchange Christmas cards now!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

284/365: Rutabaga Lady

My most memorable La Leche League client. An older single mother with her first baby and petrified about everything. I was the La Leche League leader who answered her questions about breastfeeding, including the 2 a.m. call she made to ask me if her baby was crying because she ate rutabagas for dinner. I’m afraid that I was somewhat less than gentle in my response.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

283/365: Dr. Macy

He was the father of a family friend, and my first dentist. He didn’t believe in high speed drills, water, or novocaine. It was real torture going to him. He also didn’t believe in x-rays and when I finally went to a new dentist, he took x-rays for the first time and discovered Dr. Macy had missed thirteen cavities. I really loved the new dentist!

Monday, April 6, 2009

282/365: The Counselor #2

My first major crisis occurred with the death of my best friend. I made an appointment to see a counselor, who spent most of the appointment talking about all the people with more serious problems than mine. When I left, I was given an assignment to complete for the next time. When that time came, I brought my “homework,” and it wasn’t even asked for.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

281/365: The Counselor

I’ve known this person for many, many years. A very talented well-intentioned mental health professional, well known in his circle. But I also got feedback from patients, when I worked for doctors’ offices, who had gone to see this person for therapy and were turned off when the counselor fell asleep during their sessions. I suppose after many years, you get bored with people’s problems!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

280/365: Tom

He’s our local videographer, who has videotaped all of the theatrical performances and a lot of other stage shows that have taken place in this town. He has become default historian for local theatrical companies because he’s the only one who takes an interest. Sweet man, whose talent for video has grown since I’ve known him and whose garage looks like a movie sound studio!

Friday, April 3, 2009

279/365: The bad driver

She was my fill-in person to accompany me to plays when Walt was out of town, but her driving terrified me. I tried offering to do the driving myself, and I even drove to her house to pick her up, but she was adamant that SHE do the driving. Sadly, I stopped inviting her to join me. Now if Walt doesn’t come, I go alone.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

278/365: Jose

Our first high school exchange student from Brasil. He was a real mama’s boy who spent the first night here writing a long letter to his mother. The whole night. Later he graduated, returned to the US to work and was here 10 years until he married a woman from the Czech republic and moved to Prague. Now he’s back in Brasil again, teaching English.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

277/365: Harris

I understood he had been an Olympic ice skater. When I met him he was teaching in a tiny place in San Francisco and our Girl Scout troop was taking ice skating lessons from him. I was hopeless. He tried in vain to teach me how to do something simple like skate backwards. I was lucky just to be able to go forward and stop.