, Martha, and Swimming with Reeve-----NMR

[Guest guest]

Dear Listmates,

I thought you might enjoy a small vignette about the late

Reeve, and my younger daughter, .

Remember the Bible story about Martha and , the two sisters having

Jesus over for dinner? sat enraptured at his feet, hanging onto his

every word. Then Martha bustles in from the kitchen, and complains to

Jesus that she is being left with all of the cooking and serving, and

she asks him to send in to help her. He says that has chosen

the better part, and that Martha should take heed.

Between you, me and the lampost, I have always kind of sided with

Martha....

We have two daughters, one very much like , and the other very much

like Martha, capable, busy, very organized. Even though people have

taken them for twins, they are quite opposites.

From 1985-1991 we lived and worked in a beautiful college town in the

Berkshires of western Massachusetts, town. At the same time,

Reeve and Gae Exton lived there too, with their two

children, and divided their time between MA and London.

One day I dropped my two daughters, about 7 and 9, off at the small town

swimming pond. They met their friends, and there was a lifeguard.

Our is like the biblical , frequently deep in thought, very

spiritual, with long auburn-red hair and green eyes.

She could zoom out of the front door, rushing to get into the car for

church, and somehow manage to put her foot into the bucket of muddy

water that our older daughter, Rose, ( " Martha " ) had just put to the

side of the front door, having just washed the car. Much laughter from

within the car.

That summer day, when I drove to collect them, our older daughter rushes

to the car with the heady news that had been swimming with

Superman. herself did not volunteer much. She had been standing by

herself on the dock, deep in thought. The 6'4 " man came over to her,

extended his hand, and said, " Hi, I'm Chris. What's your name? Of

course, she gave her name. And they jumped in and swam for quite a time.

His was truly a class act. Someone who is so nice to an unknown child

must be a very nice person indeed.

There were many, many famous actors in town every summer, because

College hosted a summer theatre festival.

I would be sitting in the car on the tiny main street, getting gas, and

I'd say-- " Did you see who just walked by? Wow! " And I would hear 's

voice from the back seat, very matter-of-factly, " Oh, that's Dave, my

friend. " The little school at the foot of our street which the girls

attended, lent their stage to the actors for practice.

was a class act, and so was Reeve.

Sometime I'll tell you how marched in the local parade (as my

delegate), and marched next to Ted Kennedy. But that's another story....

I have a friend Mark who is a quadriplegiac, (since 1987), and I can't

imagine a more difficult life. He is as brave as Mr. Reeve was. And as

superb a human being.

S.