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She told me that at
argumentative drawn out meetings she often started to
imagine what some of the participants were like as
children. I think she then superimposed her mental image
of them as children onto their adult bodies.
I don't know if I can
really recapture either Ann or my relationship with her with
a few stories, but Iwill try. #1 When I came to Hawaii in
1966 I didn't know anyone, but I had an introduction to Ann.
My former French professor at Bard had known her at the
Univ. of Vermont. He told me to look her up. "She's a real
human being." I did, and she became one of my closest
friends --during my 12 years in Honolulu. Early on we went to an
anit-war demonstration (1966-1967) when Lyndon Johnson came
to Honolulu. Ann made a sign with one word "Why?" That kind
of captured her position on the war and her anti war
feelings. She kept that sign in her office for some years
afterwards. #2 Ann sometimes made dinner
for me and she entertained my family as they occasionally
visited Hawaii. She also attempted to put me to use. Once
she asked me to rake the leaves in her yard. After some time
she examined the ongoing project and told me I was doing a
lousy job. "Who taught you how to rake?" "No one--I'm from
the Bronx. This is my first time raking leaves." She found
that enormously funny. #3 In yoga there are various
spiritual practices (dharanas)that one can do to keep one in
touch with the "inner self". Ann had developed her own
dharanas--- I think to keep her equanimity. She told me that
at argumentative drawn out meetings she often started to
imagine what some of the participants were like as children.
I think she then superimposed her mental image of them as
children onto their adult bodies. #4 Ann was a great hostess. She
often made a large thanksgiving feast for her friends. The
most memorable one that I attended was in the early 70's.
It was very crowded but I
remember (she later asked me to verify this) that at the
outset she informed everyone that she had made two kinds of
turkey stuffing. One of the stuffings was "regular". The
other stuffing was --- well---it was guaranteed to get you
high. One of the guests was an
older education professor who had a reputation for being
staunchly opposed to the use of marijuana. Towards the end
of the evening he remarked that he had had several portions
of the stuffing--it was the best stuffing he had ever eaten
and in fact he was having a great time. He was pretty stoned and Ann
looking at his plate saw that he was eating the "irregular"
stuffing. She told him that she was surprised that he was
eating the stuffing that contained marijuana --(given his
position on smoking pot). What followed was a
conversation/debate that lasted days. The ed. professor
contending that he had never been informedabout the
different stuffings and threatening to press legal charges
against Ann. It ended peacefully enough. Ann never went to
jail. But for years afterwards I could start Ann off on her
recollections of this incident. She would say something
like: "I did tell everyone about the stuffings. You
remember." "Yes, even now I remember."
Thank you Ann. Dan Friedman