REMEMBERING KELLY GLEASON...   ONE YEAR LATER...

 Thanksgiving Day will mark the first anniversary of the passing of Kelly Gleason; it has
been a year already and I still can't quite believe she is gone.  I spent several hours
at Kelly's home in Brooklyn this summer, helping her Mom and Dad sort through a huge
physical stockpile of Kelly's life and times--she did cram much experience into a her 41 years.
I trucked home mementos of her artistry: a casting of a gorilla's foot; dolls and
puppets; that prop corpse which caused a stir on her Brooklyn Street when Kelly left it in the
car overnight!  It still causes a stir for every service contractor who enters my basement.
These things occupy space in my home--already crowded with more such
things--but I like having Kelly's creativity "nesting" alongside my own.  I like to remember
her for what she was capable of, and what she might have gone on to do.  I am certain
more great things would have come her way because of her tremendous drive and talent.
 
2008 has been a traumatic year which Kelly did not live to see.  Some things concerning
our union would have pleased her, others would not.  She was wary of the recession which
looms before us, and she was deeply interested in the future of America. 
 
I have thought of Kelly often during what has been a strange year for me personally.  My
father's health concerns occupied much of my time, followed by my mother who broke her
hip in June.  Caring for sick and elderly parents is a constant reminder of the fragility of life.  I
turned 50 this year--a landmark age for us all which drives home the fact you're closer to
the end than the beginning as you take stock of whatever you achieved in half a century.
Kelly never saw 50, and since my birthday in March I've wondered often what the nine
years I've taken for granted might have brought her if she'd had that time for herself.  Such
speculation keeps her memory alive in my thoughts, and she grins at me from a Steiner Studios
ID Badge which hangs as a keepsake on the rear view mirror in my car.  I like to think I've
got a friend looking after me on the highway, and that her grin means she knows something
wonderful that the rest of us have yet to discover.  Girl, you made too great an impression
in your short span for your friends to ever forget you...
 
The Holiday Season is upon us, an appropriate time to remind 798 members of Kelly's
favorite charity: the homeless.  She gave her time, money and support to the New York
City Rescue Mission, 90 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10013-4494.  Knowing Kelly, I'm
certain she would appreciate that her friends alleviated the suffering of the living rather
than dwelling on that of the dead.  This Thanksgiving, as with the last, we should be
grateful Kelly's physical pain was ended, with the hope she's got a leg up on the rest of
us and found something better.  My Best Wishes to Carol and Bob; our thoughts are with
you and the rest of the Gleason Family this most meaningful of Holiday Seasons.
 
-- Norman Bryn