Tonight I went to Corvallis to watch a reading theatre piece my friend, Lee, was performing in. I’d seen her in theatre before so I knew this was not to be missed. Many of my most cherished memories from my senior year at Oregon State University have her in them.
When I first saw her, I hardly noticed, she was performing in “A Comedy of Errors”, what turned out to be my favorite Shakespeare play. My first clear memory of seeing her perform was in another play about the holocaust, one of my obsessions growing up. For her role, she had to go back and forth between two sides of the stage. On one side, she was a young woman, on the other, she was old. She was spectacular in the role and I remember her talking about the performance in the discussion afterwards. However, we were not to actually meet until my senior of college when we were both in the same troupe for a reading theatre production on the last week of Jesus’ life. (It took me a day or two to realize she was the same person.) That play changed my faith forever but that is another story. In it, I was cast as the blind man, a soldier, Pharisee, and disciple. Lee was cast as Jesus. Throughout rehearsals, I noticed she had a light about her, she actually reminded me of Jesus. I think it was because she was personable, kind, she laughed, and she was very down to earth. I liked her so I made a point of asking for a ride to one of our rehearsals so I could get to know her better. During that time, she asked me if I would be interested in an internship helping her with the youth group she led at St. Mary’s in Albany. I said yes. Every Wednesday, I would walk over to the Catholic Community Student Center right off campus where she worked and she would treat me to dinner and I often gave her a new piece of pottery I made before going to the church. I enjoyed that time so much, that I started hanging out a lot at the Catholic Center, talking with friends and just enjoying the events and the people. I even took a class on what Catholics believe and why. Not because I wanted to convert, but I just wanted to learn. Later at seminary, I developed a deep appreciation for Catholicism and I still have a huge Catholic streak. Lee taught me to laugh at myself, a precious lesson. Since then, Lee and I have kept in touch with each other and continued our friendship. I cannot even describe to you what a character she is and how much I enjoy being with her.
In tonight’s reading theatre piece, she played the part of an 11 year old, extremely well I might add. It was memorable, especially when she was upset and mad. After the show when we said goodbye and I was driving home, I started thinking about some of the relationships in my life with people who have known me in years past and how precious those relationships are. I am in a place now, where I am particularly enjoying them for they remind me of who I am, who I’ve been, and that I was loved through it all. I think I need to revisit my foundations, I have been feeling foundationless lately and it is through many of my long standing relationships, I come to terms with remembering the person I’ve been and standing on those qualities instead of standing away. Friends like Lee remind me of the core person I am, remind me of parts of myself I need to remember, revisit, and re-enjoy. I think this holds immense good for me, it already has.
By the way, I’m blaming Lee for the nose ring. It was her suggestion on my internship evaluation form that first got me thinking about it all those years ago… I told you she was a character.