Dear Sillies,
May this find you well and taking good care of yourselves.
Through no fault
of my own, except that I chose another loser, Dude Three’s presence in my life
poses an ongoing challenge. I know, right? I ended that
relationship four months ago!
Please stick
with me, as we embark upon a seemingly unrelated, related story about my hometown.
Chico, CA was
founded by heroic trailblazer and statesman John Bidwell. John courted and
married Annie Kennedy (not related to the famed Kennedy family) - Civil War era. This remarkable
duo graced and saved countless lives –including those of Native Indians, on whose
land we reside—brought trees from across the world onto our formerly desolate region,
and much more.
Annie
and I were similar in a few ways: We were both the second of four children, both
June babies passionate about social justice, and we abstain(ed) from drinking.
Most strikingly, Annie was exactly my height – 4’8”. (John was at least 6’ tall.
I have yet to meet anyone my exact height.)
Annie Kennedy Bidwell (6/30/1839-3/9/1918)
Let’s start to connect the dots: Approximately 6 weeks after the breakup, a
neighbor, we’ll call her . . . let's see, "Skanky," messaged me. “We need
someone short to play Annie Bidwell in the Christmas show. Are you up for it?”
This involved welcoming guests into Bidwell Mansion (where
the couple resided) and performing a skit with Skanky. Skanky and I were friends, and she'd been in the skit for several years. Their usual Annie was out of the country.
In short (pun intended), I couldn't turn it down.
Here’s me as Annie Bidwell.
ee
It was a big, little honor and loads of fun.
Little (no pun intended this time) did I know what was going on
behind the scenes…to be continued.
