Happy 60th Birthday, my dear friend!
I wish you were still here so that I could celebrate with you, even if it were only a phone call or Zoom or Facetime chat.
Here's a link to a Neil Diamond song that I know that you loved (you loved Neil Diamond and Gordon Lightfoot, in addition to all the Irish bands like the Dubliners and Wolftones and Irish Rovers) called Cherry Cherry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlcuAsgc5-c
Oh how I still miss you, Muff. I miss your laughter and your sarcasm and your great wit and deep love of books and all things Irish.
I miss your wisdom and your generosity toward everyone but yourself. You were unsparing in your seeming hatred of your personality, your physicality and your talents, which were many and varied, but which you dismissed as being worthless, most of the time. I was so glad when you finally got your dream job at the Marshalltown library, where you could read to children and have a hand in dealing with your favorite section of literature, children's books.
Today I was remembering the Saudi Arabian guys who invaded Clarke College in 82, I think it was, and brought a dead goat to Larry's kitchen, because he'd had the temerity to make a huge breakfast buffet to welcome them that included ham and bacon, and they ended up screaming "FILTHY PIG MEAT" and ululating in protest until Larry came to take it away. He wasn't aware that they had dietary restrictions as Muslims that were similar to that of Jewish people who keep kosher. So these Saudi guys went out in a fancy muscle car that they'd rented and hit a neighboring farmer's goat, killed it, tied it to the hood of their car and then dragged it into Larry's kitchen, and told him to fix up the goat meat for them. Muff, you were working in the kitchen on work study at the time, and you told me how this all went down with your natural storytelling ability that had me and everyone else in earshot howling with laughter. Poor Larry had no idea how to butcher a goat, but he promised them he'd see to it. He ended up burying that critter somewhere on the Clarke grounds. Then he went and bought some lamb and goat meat and fixed a stew for them.
There were so many stories that you would tell of your time in Larry's kitchen, or your classes, or the theater. I never would have become a double major in theater and history if it weren't for you, Muff. You helped me remember my love of learning and acting and self discovery. I wish I could have persuaded you to stop smoking, but you loved your "coffin nails" as you called them, and you also loved to drink alcohol, especially the strong stuff like whiskey.
But I think back then we all thought we were immortal, that nothing could harm us out there in Dubuque. Even during our time at the St Giles Ren Fest, in Wisconsin, you were always there looking out for me as I made my goofy mistakes and you ensnared the heart of the MC of the whole faire.
Thank you for being such a genuine friend during those years at Clarke and afterward, when I sorely needed your advice and counsel.
I hope that you're enjoying some cake and Irish whiskey up there in heaven. God bless you.
BTW, I bet you'd be thrilled by our new Democratic president Joe Biden and our VP Kamala Harris. I know you'd have loved the Obamas, too. But I am glad you didn't have to live through the pandemic and quarantine...you would have hated it. But now that it's over, you would have been the first person to get back to work and get out there to start up your life again.
