oh, ok.

alice white died yesterday of cancer.

i didn’t know her very well. we spent a few long weekends together during summers at friend’s in new jersey. she was an actress and had been working down in virginia. she wore long caftans and those tuban thingies, and drank gin.

i had been trying to get a hold of her for months, because i wanted to correspond with her. i knew my life would be much more fun with more alice white in it. she was one of those people who was able to cut through my grumpy death fog to remind me that we are here for a very short time, and why not just enjoy….

one time when we were doing the times crossword by the pool, a wasp flew by her ear and instead of swatting it away in a panic as i would have done, she pointed her erasable pen at it and said, “oh darling, what do you want? you know i have nothing for you.” she was like that. I loved her.

why not just enjoy…..

i love that new yorkers will leave their unwanted things out for others to enjoy.

Helen “Momma Pat” Huffsmith feb 20 1910 - nov 03 2005

95 years on this earth.
the most glamourous woman i have ever known. she had a white fur coat to match her white jag in the 70’s.
her favorite food was ketucky fried chicken. she said she had a crush on colonel saunders.
a beautiful painter. she let me have my own pallette of oils when i’d visit her.
she thought i was uppity when i was thirteen. i was.
she gave me the money to make the first recording of my songs even though she thought my music was “a little loud”.
she only wanted to see pretty things when she started losing her sight in her 80’s. she’d had enough of the ugly.

the last time i saw momma pat she danced in her chair to lawrence welk, had a nap, then listened to the basketball game with my sister and i.