On Tuesday morning, my friend, my comrade-in-arms at McGroarty Arts Center, Michelle E. Barone died of cancer. She had been fighting breast cancer, but it was faster than they thought and she lost that fight. Michelle was a marriage and family therapist and a homeschool advocate who helped countless people in her short 60 years. I will miss our talks. When we were both on the Board I would call her from my car on the way to work in the early morning to talk about problems at the Center. When I think of her, I will always hear her exasperated "what the FUCK, Robyn?" when we discussed some knotty problem at the Center. We both tried our very best and although I KNOW there are some in this community who will point fingers at us if the Center does not thrive, I know that Michelle and I put everything we had into it. I think the additional stress of trying to run the Center with only three or four active people did not help her health.I know it did not help mine and stepping away was hard but my health has vastly improved ( so much so I no longer need to see the cardiologist on a regular basis and I am off all the heart meds). Michelle will be missed in this world. I know she is at peace in the next realm.
I don't make "little" mistakes. Nope. I make WHOPPERS! For my class reunion, I was tasked with the memorial video. I gathered information as to who had passed on and did my best to vet the information. You won't believe how many people told me so-and-so is dead, only to find they were alive. Well, I missed one catch. In my defense, one of the two people who told me that Ray Mohammed had passed on told me they went to his funeral. I wonder just WHOSE services they went to. It wasn't Ray's. I am thoroughly embarrassed but glad to clear up the misinformation. To quote Mark Twain "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." It happens. There was no malice in any of this. It was a simple mistake. Ray's "Death" information came in at the 11th hour for the edit and with the information that someone had gone to his services... well... I blame no one. I take responsibility and I know that no one bears me ill-will because of this. We edited the video and I will make copies available, as well as have posted it on Dropbox and the link is on the Facebook reunion page for Uniques, Class of 1976. The video was beautiful and my husband Chris did a wonderful job. He took my vision of a very simple tribute and brought it to life.
Seeing so many of the friends of my youth, was wonderful. Fro some of them, it seemed like we were picking up a conversation we had been having just a few moments before. The dinner was too short. We are beginning to talk about doing a 45th and taking a cruise. Three days to Ensenada? Sounds PERFECT!!!!!
I'm headed out this weekend to see my little man. I am fortunate that my amazing husband understands and encourages me to go and spend time with him. Bob had my heart from the very first moment I hugged my daughter and felt him there. SHE didn't know, but I did. He and his G-ma have THAT kind of connection!
If it makes you feel any better, I can think of several instances where people were NOT dead! When I was at the old old old Los Feliz back in the pre-1994 earthquake daze, a staff member told me the senior's sister had just died. Well, I wrote a lovely note on my best paper, and told two of her closest colleagues, who did ditto. Well, the librarian was wrong - but luckily for all of us, Thea thought it was a hoot and told me it gave her the best laugh she'd had in months!
ReplyDeleteAnd then once upon a time, my mother and a friend went out to a funeral at Forest Lawn but were late (Tillie always had to go to the bathroom one last time just in case) so they sat in the back and listend to the tributes, and finally my mother whispered to Tillie, "Do you see nayone we know - where's so and so, or so and so....?" When they went up to the front, they looked - WHOOPS! Who in the hell was THAT! As they were leaving, their friend Kathryn came up and asked where they'd been.....................as my mother said later, "Well, at least I didn't waste a dress and high heels for nothing - I went to SOMEBODY'S funeral!"
Tom