Andie - friend and defender.

This kid was never nervous or afraid of anyone. Rich, poor, popular, brainy, slow, damaged, whatever. Every new face whether shy, scared, smiling, aloof, or frowning was a potential friend.

Andie was overweight most of her life and she had glasses from 7 years old. One would think the combination would put her low in the playground pecking order.

Nope! She was a natural leader and nurturer. When she was 5 she looked on me as her personal secretary. One vacation, sunning beside the ppol, my 5 year old social butterfly, approaches me and says "Mom, please be sure I am back down here at the pool at 2:30 after my nap. I am meeting with Amanda and Becky." As she waved in the general direction of 2 older girls (7 or 8 year olds) at the shallow end of the pool. It was the start of many, many, chauferrings here and there and organising parties, study buddy meetings, school extra curriculars, etc. What is a Mom for after all.


In first grade I got my first call from the principal. She had bee standing in double line for the new slide on playground and behind her a little boy with learning disability kept kicking gravel up onto the back of her legs and the legs of girl next to her. Legs were bare as they were all in shorts. Andie had turned a number of times to tell the boy to stop. A teacher was holding his hand to keep him from running amok, but she was talking to another teacher and so ignoring the playground drama unfolding under her nose. Andie warned the boy one last time to stop (in a loud voice) or she would show him what it felt like. He didn't so she kicked gravel up so that it struck and stung the fronts of his legs. Naturally the teacher who was distracting the one holding the boy's hand, dragged Andie to the office and the principal called me,

Andie was livid. She made some comment about if the teachers have to hold his hand to keep him from hurting himself and others then why didn't they stop him hurtiung me and my friend?

It wasn'tlong after that she came home from school declaring that she wanted to be president of the United 'States when she grew up. I asked her why this sudden wish. She fairly growled at me... "because I HAVE to be in charge."

Later when she was about 12, I was remarking on Andie's desire to be president to a family member and she instantly corrected me. "No I don't, because you need party support to get to be president and women don't get any party support."   We are talking early 1990's here. I wondered if she figured that out all by herself or if some teacher at the fundamental baptist school she was attending then had taken her down a notch. I didn't push it. The comment was bitter in tone and I could tell she did not want to talk further on it.

Back in the public school system in high school Andie really blossomed again. She made scores of friends.   Very involved in choir, drama and medieval SCA. often leading and teaching songs to the SCA friends. One friend wrote the following on the day she learned of Andie's passing. Really tells how they thought of Andie.

THE VOICE IN THE GLEN

There's a voice in the glen
a far away valley
able to call friends together
and bring them to rally

She spoke in the language
of music and heart
was quick to direct us
each to our part

Our voices weren't hers and
we laughed all the time
but she never failed to finish
teaching us the rhyme

She loved us and taught us
and gave us her best
but a song can't stay trapped
in a body of flesh

A friend and a sister
and though we all miss her
her voice will sing on in the glen

(this is how I will always remember Andie, Stephanie M.)

Somehow I must get video of Andie in school play A Midsummer's Night Dream up with a link here. In it shows her teaching a lullaby (she wrote) to the fairies Peasebottom, et al. So sweet and funny as she would sing liltingly and ask them to sing at which they would all howl and shriek. Andie stamping her foot, yanking at her hair (hair again) crying,,, "No NO No... like this"... and the scene repeated itself again.

Though this was a planned scene in the play, it had been played out in real life when she taught her friends new songs.

I think this is enough for tonight.

I am going to shop for GOLD archive DVDs so I can get the VHS videos in a safer and more useable format. Think I may be strong enough to start looking at them now.