Sunday, June 10, 2018
Our Friends
The above picture is Patricia at the recent Detroit festival of electronic music. Picture was taken by @nicklphoto
Our Friends
If we are lucky, we have at least one dear friend we have been close to for many years. This is the person we admire and love and who has been with us for all the ups and downs of our own lives.
Patricia Lay Dorsey is such a friend for me. Of all the people I know, she is the one I most admire for what she has done in her life and made of her own destiny. I first met Patricia some 20 years ago when we were both living in San Francisco. We met through a mutual friend and used to meet at a coffee shop just halfway between the two of us. There we would write poetry and discuss the affairs of the world.
Patrica has progressive M. S. and I have watched this challenge take on ever more serious consequences over the years. When we first met, she was using a cane but that did not stop her from traveling on Bart to the East Bay to go to jazz concerts, which she loved. Actually, she only came to S. F. during the winter months, for she wanted to escape the extreme weather of Grosse Pointe (near Detroit) where she lives with her husband the rest of the time. Ultimately she progressed from a cane to a walker and then a scooter. She loved taking photos but it was only later that she polished her skills so that she began to be featured in exhibits, written up in such publications as the N. Y. Times, Vogue Italia, and others.
Patricia loves music, both classical and contemporary (such as electronic dance music.) She has become more and more skilled at photographing her surroundings and events such as the annual Detroit electronic musical festival. She loves the ambience and dances with her upper body, seated on her scooter. She attends the entire festival from start to finish.
A few months ago she had a major setback when she got the flu and was left much weakened. She spent several weeks in the hospital and in rehab and spent her time there photographing all her helpers of all levels, from the doctors to the folks mopping the floor.
Gradually, she got her strength back and went home. However, she no longer had the strength to drive her outfitted van and was much discouraged. However, she had her van outfitted with hand controls and took lessons to learn how to use then and also started exercises to improve her strength. She has progressed now to the place she is ready to start driving alone soon.
When Patricia goes to the Detroit electronic festival she is famous as "Grandma Techno." The young people love her and honor her in every way. She has done a most fascinating portfolio of this event that is available (with other portfolios) on Instagram at @PatriciaLayDorsey.instagram Look her up. You will love what you see. (To view pictures on Instagram, you must join but that is easy and then you will be give access to the site).
I nominate her for woman of the year, for her talent, her tenacity, her love of people and because she is my friend.
