October 3, 2006

Dear Kathryne the Beloved,

October 24 th has a lot of history. For example, in 1537, Henry VIII's 3 rd wife, Jane Seymour, obligingly made room for 4 th wife, Anne of Cleves. In 1601, astronomer Tycho Brahe encountered up close and personal the heavens he had heretofore only seen through a telescope when he shuffled off this mortal coil. 1648 brought about the Peace of Westphalia that ended the 30 Year War and the Holy Roman Empire. Some Lucky bastard finally patented the match in 1836. (Get it? Lucky? Match?) Daniel Webster failed to renew his lifetime subscription on October 24 th , 1852. In 1901, Anna Taylor became the first woman to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. (Did there really need to be a second one? I expect better from women, or at least smarter.) Rolling Stone Mick Jagger and his girlfriend Marianne Faithfull were busted for pot possession in 1968. God's arena, Texas Stadium, opened in 1971 and the Dallas Cowboys whupped them New England Patriots 44-21. First black baseball player Jackie Robinson struck out permanently in 1972. Finally, on October 24, 1991, Gene Roddenberry, creator of “Star Trek,” was transported to a galaxy far, far away. Kathryne, you probably remember your 23 rd birthday pretty well. It was “Black Thursday,” the beginning of the stock market crash of 1929. Or you might remember it as the premiere of Rudy Vallee's Fleishmann Hour broadcast on NBC radio.

A lot has happened on October 24 th , but nothing so wondrous, so rewarding, so monumental for so many of us as the birth in 1906 of a beautiful little girl named Kathryne. You grew up to be a woman we all admire, for your steadfastness, your generous heart, and your emancipated spirit. Your gorgeous silver hair, those striking black eyebrows, and your wonderful voice, like hot buttered grits with honey in a fine china bowl, inspire envy now and always. Your ability to flow around obstacles, the tactical strikes of your impressive mind, your well-developed sense of the ridiculous, your gracious acceptance of whatever Life serves up, your deep-seated faith, your confidence that there's nothing you can't handle – you are one to be admired… emulated and admired.

I have so many blessed memories of you, most gathered across the telephone lines. I loved it when you'd call the Honors Program office at TCU, reconnoitering Kathy's disposition before and after she'd girded her loins and marched into battle with the administration over some necessary policy change or, God forbid, some new idea! You remain at the core of her support system; your faith in her, your recognition of her many abilities permits Kathy to take on all comers as she deems necessary. She gets that from you, you know.

I marvel at your unwavering support for your children. When Kathy won the Dean's Teaching Award, I called to see if you could make it in to surprise her at the ceremony. You came in spite of the fact that it was December, icy cold and rainy, and airline travel had become truly painful for you. You hid out at Mom's house (‘ scuse me , Empress Eugenia's) until time for commencement and Betty Arvin brought her 2 month old son Jack to meet Kathryne the Great. I have a wonderful photograph of you holding chubby Jack in his first Christmas sweater, both of you grinning broadly. Only Jack was drooling, though. By the way, Jack is almost 9 and is in the Gifted & Talented program in the third grade. Now he only drools when he eats.

I wish I could be there to celebrate you, Kathryne, but I'm heading to Seattle this week to hug on my anointed niece, Princess Fiona. I know you understand devotion to family and the unforgiving nature of vacation leave from work. My toast to you isn't for the simple distinction of turning 100; I toast you for the exceptional woman you are: strong yet understanding of human foibles and weaknesses; formidably intelligent but always loving; and deeply ingrained Southern values, pure class really, but always appreciative of wicked humor. Shoot, I wanna BE you! But I guess I can settle for the fact that you've already created another in your image, your daughter, Kathryne the Pretty Damn Great. And the Universe owes you another big THANK YOU for that.

Thank you for being you. Thank you for sharing Kathy with me. And, most especially, thank you for loving me!

I love you very much, Kathryne, today and always.

Your friend,

Ali