Simoney:
I remember creating with you – we wrote the beginnings of an opera, sitting side by side at the upright piano in the corner of the dining room in the house on Gormley. The song I recorded for you has been bouncing around my head for almost fifty years – we wrote “Chilly Billy” together (I hope you remember). And there was “The Trip Trop,” our dream of running a thrift store cum used book store—it was going to have a piano (of course) and cats wandering around. We designed the facade in coloured pencils and the drawing was taped to a Hilroy duo-tang that we started to fill with loose leaf sheets detailing all the clothes we were already collecting… and their prices (red cotton skirt, 25 cents). And there were also those many hilarious characters we created. I have forgotten most of them, but there was “Mr. Munghi” and a strange child he commanded. Perhaps you remember more.
You ignited creativity in me at an early age and together we were on fire, creating characters, music, dreams, stories, and pictures. We were silly together, we laughed so much and so hard. I love that. I still love you, Simone, although we don’t see each other. I value your beautiful, creative and compassionate self. Happy happy birthday!
love Madeline