Dali Mama

Today is my mom's birthday. I had been thinking that I'd like to post something about her so that you could know how great she is, too. Accolades make a great gift (hey, I gave her stuff too!).

It's just too big a job. If I were to write her profile, I'd tell you that she's a great writer and editor and an EMT who has pulled accident victims from cars in frozen rivers and held babies who died in her arms. Then, for a lark, she became a bartender a few years ago. She has fans for her work there, too. I could tell you all that, but I'd forget to mention that she also does research for the Judge Judy Show, and then, just to keep me honest, she'd turn around and learn the Texas two-step ... which I suspect she can already do. It's hard to keep up.

My mom is a world traveler who has always included us in her adventures. I could tell you that she took me to Europe, my sister to Japan, and we both accompanied her to Mexico, but I'd forget some of the details of her cruise ship job she took so she could see the whole world, and studied for a semester in England when she was in her 40s. Oh, and she was visiting friends in Croatia when they went to war, pish-poshing our requests that she come home, please.

I could tell you that she loves her family and is always, always there for me, but that wouldn't do justice to how much she loves her friends, her boyfriend, her pets, and people I don't even know ... but who rely on her for emotional support just as much as I do.

I could tell you that she is beautiful. Before I was born, my mom competed in beauty contests. To diminish her participation, she used to tell me that she won "Miss Congeniality," which she tried to explain was the consolation prize for the less pretty girls. Um. No. Pretty and nice, in one package, is just worth rewarding.

Today, she still stops traffic. And, in a world of divorces that end in ugly decades-long venomous battles (y'all know who you are), my mom has remained supportive of her ex-husband, my dad, never having said a negative word to me about him. Ever.

She is that positive. The Dali Mama.

My mom doesn't have time for that kind of ugliness. As ANOTHER Dolly says, my mommy gets to livin'.

Comments

[jeffrey]

I remember the beauty contest.. I was a little guy back then..

Aunty Val is truly an amazing person and has always been inspiration to me.

Happy Birthday Dolly Lama Mama!

You go girl!

Love,

the Moldy Jeffrey one

[Mama]

What a fabulous surprise and gift from my beautiful baby girl! And now you have a Mama who it crying -- tears of love and joy -- that I have such a loving and supportive family that has made it easy to "get to livin'"

[Gail]

Happy Birthday, most fun friend! Yup, Shawna has it right - Who would think that a week at Club Med 17(?) years ago would turn into a life long friendship..and who wouldn't want to be friends with someone who laughs so spontaneously and finds humor in the most ordinary happenings..(I kind of had a hint that she was pretty special when she confessed that her Club Med vacation was because of a recent relationship break up...that the alternative was to spend the money on a shrink and she decided that Club Med was a better deal. How great is that?
Happy Birthday from Big Cow

[Christy Chromette]

Happy Birthday oh beauty queen!!! I never knew that!! A chromette who competed!!! WHOA!!!!
Have a great day and did you know you have THE coolest daughter on the entire planet!?!?!?

Much love and hugs. My silly gift should have made it to you via snow, sleet, rain, hail, sun, wind.....

[Chris Stephenson]

To Fast Rabbit: Happy Birthday dear, dear beautiful Valerie with the greenest eyes and the best sense of humor and the biggest heart ever! I'm so glad I know you, and I can hardly wait for you to move back to California... we're all waiting and hoping, Lots of Love, Lost Giraffe

[Maria]

Let’s go back to the 1980’s when my sister and I used to duck away from my parents home to enter into the Hershfield household which was decorated with hippopotamuses of all kinds. Valerie’s view of the daily grind was always shared with her two front teeth smile, and a giggle. I haven’t seen you in ages! But when I think of the Rye High School days shared with Shawna, mommy Valerie and Mr. H, it is as if you guys have never been very far. I wish you the happiest of everydays’ and send you my love always.
Mariuch!

[Adam, Jessie, and Aili]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

[A cowboy in Santa Fe]

Shawna -- sketching in the more-or-less-true facts about the beloved Valerie -- sent me searching for a metaphor that might capture the delightful lady. Hmmmm, a box of wildly assorted chocolates, each flitting across a specific collection of taste buds? Maybe.

Or how about one of my favorite geometric shapes, the regular dodecahedron. (No, dear heart, not YOUR geometry, but something more "mathematically" regular.) This is a 12-faced solid, each face that can be seen as reflecting an aspect of one's personality. But with V., being limited to 12 facets is in itself an absurdly narrow definition of her richly textured persona. As to the "regularity" of those facets? Ha! And Ha! again.

It is V's wonderful non-regularity that those of us who love her cherish. Not more nor less than the other facets -- the facets of intelligence, compassion, creativity, loyalty, caring mother and playful traveler.

It's just that the unexpected turns and times and uniqueness of the woman are what leads us to see that life is, indeed, worth living.

Besos, mi amor.

[Mama]

Jeff, Maria, Big Cow, Lost Giraffe, Cute Cowboy, Christy, Adam, Jessie and Baby Aili -- Thank you all so much for making this such a delightful day. (Although I'll admit to a fleeting thought when I read all the nice comments -- "Am I dying and don't know it?") I am so fortunate and grateful to have you all in my life to love. Each of you is so very precious. And, yes, Shawna is beautiful in every sense. Love, Valerie (aka, Mama, Auntie Val, Fast Rabbit)

[Curtis]

Dolly Parton, Tina Turner & Momma. Yo go girl!

[Cheryl Carter]

My favorite memory of the Dali Lama Mamma is Christmas in the adobes!! You had to see her to believe her! We were all in period costumes (spanish) and boy did she do that justice!!! ;o) I knew she was Shawna's mom the first time I saw her (in Shawna's absence). There was no doubt they were kith and kin. She is a beautiful person I feel honored to have met and am able to call friend. Love ya!!!!

[H 2.5]

Ok, so my darling daughter has kicked my ass (and rightly so!) for not participating formally and bloggily in the "VDP Lovefest Version 62.0). I did send old W2 a video of me singing (very badly)....but NOOOOOOOOO....that's not what Shawanda instructed me to do.

So, in order to keep on the shiny side of my wonderful BlogBaby, here goes:

All my years working with... dating...living in sin with... and married to Valerie Dee Hershfield were some of my happiest and most memorable.

It's virtually impossible to find someone(and history records that I've tried) with her totally unique combination of sense of humor AND humanity. Her beauty emanates from her gooshy insides and invades every cell in her gorgeous and funny body (odd juxtaposition of words, neh?). Be careful standing near her or touching her spit, you just might catch her virulant Joi de Vivre de Valerie and go through the rest of your lives smiling.

My belated birthday wish is that 2008 is the year she drags Larry's hairy (as well as Mr. Greg's arthymiatic) asses back out to California. For truly I've never known more of a perfect model of the Beach Boys or David Lee Roth's "California Girl" than Valerie Dee. (Except of course her spawn, who is currently swimming upstream in the eHarmony tributary of the Willamette River).

So, Happy Getting Squeezed Out From Between Grace's Legs Day + 1 dearest Hippo Girl!!!!!!

Sambo

[Jerry Della Femina]

Everyone need someone in their life with whom every memory is sweet and delicious.
No matter how tough the day or how bad the time -- When I'm in my bed and it's the "Hour Of The Wolf" and I can't sleep I need only to think of you dear Valorie and it's automatic -- I smile and all is good with the world.