Having the Prime of My Life

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Lately, memories of this lovely lady have been on my heart.

As I age, I wonder what, if anything, people will remember me for.

What do you hope folks will remember you for?

Years ago, I had the privilege of helping Debbie with her annual children’s theater workshop. During this very special two-week period, Debbie coached a group of children ranging from ages 8-14 in theater arts. The very first item on the agenda was helping the children to know each other in a positive way. She had the children select an adjective to describe themselves, starting with the first letter of their first name. Each adjective had to be positive. Soon the children were interacting with one another and addressing them by this adjective.

Debbie chose the adjective Dynamic. Even in her last days, Dynamic Debbie found the courage to laugh. Holding on to her directorial hat as long as she could.

As I think back, I believe the word best describes the Debbie I came to know and love. And most of all appreciate.

As I think back on our friendship, each memory is characterized by Debbie’s enthusiasm. Whatever she embraced, she embraced with a full heart. Whatever she did, she gave her all.

My earliest remembrance was a musical called Nunsense. I got to know Debbie a little, then. We discovered we had both worked at the Office for the Aging at different times. We were united, not only in our love of theater, but our commitment to the elderly.

There were many joint theater moments that we shared. So many, I could write a book. Maybe I will do just that. But each one brings back flashes of our dear Dynamic Debbie, encouraging and coaching.

I remember a dinner theater about a year before Debbie became ill, called The Hilarious Hillbilly Massacre. Debbie helped with production and sound. Dynamic Debbie turned the task into a character. The director thought he’d quiet her by making her character mute. Dynamic Debbie would not be outdone. She found a bike horn and added her two cents now and again.

I remember another dinner theater that Debbie directed, a spy spoof called Death Suite. Dynamic Debbie didn’t care for the scripted character, Suzie Sockwasher, and recreated a persona, Gertrude Von Costoppe, an opera diva scam artist with a German accent. Including the insertion of a parody to Hello Madduah, Hello Fadduh. 

I remember the unscripted costume changes from a caped snooty announcer to Braunhilda, complete with braids, helmet, and sword, to Madame Butterfly in all her finery. Every cast member was brought up about ten notches through parodies and musical numbers not in the original script.

Dynamic Debbie loved spoofs, the heart and soul of her children’s theater workshops, a take off on Rocky and Bullwinkle’s Frivolously Fractured Fairy Tales. The children loved them.

The play she started before her death was a western spoof, a take off on Shane, Have Gun Will Travel, The Wild West Show, Gunsmoke, and Who Shot Liberty Valance, to name just a few. Dynamic Debbie wanted to get it right and spent three years reviewing old shows and movies,  picking out props, and honing the script with fellow theater members.

My personal friendship with Dynamic Debbie went beyond the theater. I remember the Murder Mystery Games we played, where the guests came in costume. Dynamic Debbie always outdid the rest of us, every aspect of her costume in the full spirit of the game.

Sometimes, we would get together for Trivial Pursuit games. Dynamic Debbie rolled the dice with her signature roll. We learned to duck when Dynamic Debbie’s turn came. There were other games too. I remember another game involving charades called Act I. We would laugh the night away.  

Dynamic Debbie loved to help me with my writing. This too, she did with enthusiasm. I would read my drafts, and Debbie would become entrenched in the story.  Where many became bored, Dynamic Debbie became my most treasured critique partner. I remember a trip we took to Brattleboro, Vermont to do some research for a book I was writing. We left the house at six in the morning and didn’t return until late at night. But Dynamic Debbie engulfed the experience, taking pictures, helping me find brochures and landmarks. We stopped to examine the nineteenth century architecture, and even visited the Brattleboro High School to see if they had a football team. We even made a stop at Stowe and toured the famous Top Notch Ski Resort, where my hero met my heroine. We talked about how my love birds might have met at this romantic spot.  

Finally, I will remember Dynamic Debbie as she would want us to. I believe this poem, taken from the Little House on the Prairie Episode, Remember Me and written by Michael Landon, is  Dynamic Debbie’s song:   

Remember me with smiles and laughter,
For that's the way I'll remember you all.
If you can only remember me with tears,
Then don't remember me at all.

I will always remember you with laughter, my dear dynamic friend.