Victoria Noe

Award-winning Author, Speaker, Activist

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Mary Ellen McGarry

Friends, Calendars and Facebook

Friends, Calendars and Facebook
Dec 24, 2013 by Victoria Noe
Happy birthday, MareI used to be very diligent about recording birthdays on my calendar. Every year, I’d get a new datebook and wall calendar, and the first thing I’d do is list birthdays of friends and family. Somehow I got out of that habit. When I was addressing Christmas cards the other day, I paged through my address book (yes, I still have an actual address book). Every time I turned to a new page, I said to myself “he’s dead” or “she’s dead” or “they’re both dead”. I don’t know about you, but I can’t bring myself to get a new address book. That would mean not putting in names of friends and family who are no longer...

Going to a Friend’s Wake – Having Fun Yet?

Going to a Friend’s Wake – Having Fun Yet?
Feb 08, 2013 by Victoria Noe
A dear friend of mine died Saturday morning, from lung disease and complications from the flu. She was one of the first people I met when I moved to Chicago in the late 1970’s, and we worked in the theatre community. Mary Ellen was larger than life. She did nothing halfway and rarely hesitated to express her opinion. She was a teacher, director, collaborator, consultant and all-around creative genius. My memories of her are random:Finding her at a fundraiser, deep in conversation with Peter Ustinov.Coordinating the table decorations for my wedding reception.Helping her with a garage sale after her mother died.Getting really drunk one night after work and finding ourselves at a meeting of the Chicago Art Deco...