Report From Sylvia



Hi all,

I spent some time with Leslie once again the  week of Dec. 5 and she is doing real well.  She continues on her 3-week cycles of weekly chemo treatments, is pretty well pounded by the effects for a few days then bounces back to normal. Energy levels are of course quite low and, when  she disappears every once in awhile we know she’s grabbing a catnap.   A few of the things we did together: wrapped some Christmas gifts, watched “Love Actually” (while Bill was at work since that is a 100% chick flick!),  ran some errands, and had a roaring good time on a SKYPE call with Bob Stetson.

Here is a picture of Leslie and the “Healing Hands” bed coverlet which was made for her by friends from St John’s Episcopal Church in Montclair. You can’t quite see it in the picture but each “hand” is personally signed with some words of encouragement.  It’s a cheery sight to behold!

Leslie will have a CT scan in late December to see where things stand since the first one done in the early days of her diagnoses in August.  She is already considered a ‘poster child’ for being a diabetic with pancreatic cancer… maybe there will be some more hopeful news by the New Year.

Merry Christmas to all!

Sylvia

A Note from Leslie...

In October, Leslie sent the letter included here as a two-part Comment to some of the readers of this blog.  We're reprinting it at her suggestion as, a month after she first wrote, it still encapsulates all of her "states" -- physical, emotional and spiritual.  And it especially encapsulates the love she feels for all her friends -- which is returned a hundredfold.

Getting on Leslie's page...

     When you think about our shared history in Piedmont, sooner or later an image or recollection of Leslie Bowman is going to enter that space.  Whether it’s at Camp, Dr. Laird’s French class, or “The Highlander,” Leslie’s presence – then as it is now --  is always memorable! Remember Leslie in a full leg cast resolutely trudging up and down the ramps at PHS getting from class to class? Waving a crutch, laughing, saying ‘hi’ to people, clearing away incoming traffic.  Now there’s a classic “Leslie visual”!

     Her recently diagnosed pancreatic cancer is by no means the only battle she has faced. As a 56-year diabetic, she learned early and well to fight fiercely to live her life with passion, laughter, and purpose.

     Now, in the throes of her fiercest fight, despite pain, fatigue, and the gamut of emotions, she is in a state of  grace, a grace that comes from a very real and personal relationship with her Creator.  She continues to exhort, advocate, minister to, and enrich the lives of everyone lucky enough to be in her world.   We can honor and delight her by ‘getting on her page’ – living our lives with passion, generosity, gratitude, and now, as the bitter specter of pancreatic cancer looms, urgency.

     In July, Leslie and I celebrated our 60^th birthdays together with her parents at their home on Monte Ave.  What did Leslie bring to the party? A ridiculously silly portable bubble machine, which spewed out a barrage of big, juicy bubbles as we laughed our heads off and sang Happy Birthday. Is that so Leslie or what? 
    -Sylvia (Cartwright) Simpson, Sept. 16, 2011

Well wishes from loved ones and friends...

If you scroll further down this page, you will find posts from some of the friends who were involved in the creation of the Team Leslie blog.  But we welcome you to contribute by going to the Comments right here to write a new message of your own...

Woodland Pow Wow

These two  photos were shot by Bill Marcus, Saturday November 19th, on the front steps of "Chez Marcus" in Woodland.  Left to right are:  Reid Dabney, Leslie, Anne Gritzer, and Bob Nelson.  Bob is wearing a French beret in deference to francophilia, and is holding a pair of Daffodil bulbs for spring blooming, a wonderful gift of new life from Leslie and Bill.  Piedmont High School classmates Reid, Anne, and Bob journeyed from the East Bay for a short visit with Leslie, which happily lasted longer than planned!  :-) 

A Partisan Message From Leslie...

Leslie Meets Elephant at Musee d'Orsay Plaza

Team Effort! (Leslie, Ann, Bob, Bob... and Barack!)

This Obama 2012 Photo Essay, originally sent by Bob Stetson to Leslie (tireless Obama campaigner, circa 2008) has been transformed by our other tireless worker, Bob Nelson, into a Video Slideshow, complete with public domain music.  Here is Leslie's original reaction on getting the email from Bob (S), and thanks to Bob (N) it is posted here in its new state with her approval.  Make sure to follow the instructions to enjoy the whole sequence.  -Ann G.


From Leslie:
"Bobo -- this is wonderful -- it made my whole day.  Shelley and I sat and read it together, and once again we are proud that (1) we voted for him, (2) we worked to get him elected, and (3) we'll work like hell to get him elected again.

"Keep sending this out, as the months go by, Bob - lots of people need to be reminded of what a fine President he has been for us!"

 

Note - This video, which was adapted via a pictorial e-mail from "Bobo" (aka Bob Stetson) that Leslie is referring to above, can also be viewed by clicking on the photo of Leslie with the Obama cutout below in the "Breaking The Ice?" blog post...

--PHS 1969, October 23, 2011

Ice Breaker?

As the Media Technician for Leslie's group of high school classmates, here's my attempt at demonstrating some of the capabilities of this on-line forum...  For one thing, I'm deviating from the standard text font.  For another, I'm planning to share a couple of pictures and videos.  Pictures and videos can be inserted into any "Blog Post" or along the right hand side... 

I'd probably never have become acquainted with Leslie at all without Elwood Gerrits, the WONDERFUL longtime English and Geography teacher at Piedmont Junior High School.  The late Mr. Gerrits and I had a mutual interest in a local listener supported radio station, which led me to reconnect with him a few years ago.  To my great surprise, Mr. Gerrits was full of praises for the Piedmont High School 1969 Class that Leslie and I belong to, and did his best to convince me to get involved with that group, which had never held any attraction for me until then.  This led to deep involvement with the recent 40th PHS 1969 reunion, where I found a niche as the Media Technician!  :-)  Leslie was a very important driving force for that event...  Following are three of the many videos I helped produce for the 40th reunion.  Leslie appears in all of them:


This YouTube movie was made from photos and video clips shot by Leslie at a Piedmont reception for revered retired PHS English teacher Jim Killian.  The title is "JIM KILLIAN RECEPTION":

(Apologies to Anne Cobbledick Gritzer, whose first name is misspelled in the video...  Another corrected video was issued, but couldn't be placed retroactively on a popular FaceBook site, so this one with more views seems to take precedence in  the "blogspotland" media soup we're wading through here...)

Here's a YouTube movie based on a wonderful, creative greeting card from Leslie to me.  I have discovered that custom, highly personalized and DELIGHTFUL graphic greetings (hard copy like this and electronic too) are a specialty of Leslie's.  The title is "BART TICKET THANK YOU CARD":

 

The 40th Reunion gathering wasn't enough for some classmates, who got together four months later at Fenton's on Piedmont Avenue to welcome classmate Cliff Nancarrow to town.  Cliff couldn't attend the official gathering in October 2009...  Leslie reads comments from classmates who couldn't make it to Fenton's that day, but an amazing turnout of a couple of dozen (about 10% of the class) did come.  This YouTube movie is called "FENTONS SUMMIT":



I tried to put my best still pictures of Leslie in the line-up on the right, but here are a couple of others:



A snapshot from high school years

given to me by Leslie, who appears

on the left.  At right is Leslie's

longtime friend Sylvia Simpson.




Leslie with Barack Obama during the election season of 2008.  This somewhat partisan picture was given to me by Leslie, and I include it here unashamedly...

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                    Hopefully this "Blog Post" provides an idea of the capabilities of expression here...  Contact me (e-mail is good, click on my name below) if you'd like some assistance with composing and posting messages...  We'll learn together, because I don't feel too comfortable yet with this "blogspot" system...


Robert Nelson  October 12, 2011

Music to Live By...

Our lives have many soundtracks, and Leslie's includes her many years at the keyboard herself (a young master of Mozart sonatas) as well as other performers she has loved.   We offer here "The Sweet Forever" performed in Italy by Dirk Hamilton, a favorite singer/songwriter of Leslie's and Bill's:

Words

Dear Leslie,

I was so saddened to learn about what you and yours are now forced to deal with. Words are hard to come by and it is difficult to know what is right to say to you. But I will try…

I may not know fully what to say right now, but I do know this:

You are Leslie Bowman Marcus and you are loved and strong and important to us all...

You will do everything in your power and control to play the right cards with regards to your destiny moving forward...

Your life legacy is rich and lasting no matter what...

You are beautiful and funny and so very smart...

You have a tremendous network of resources around you to be with you on this journey -- please tap them all and lean on us when you need to...

And above all, God will guide you and inspire you today and always -- that's a given and as it should be...

I love you. I am here for you. I am available and I know you know all of that...

 BoBo

Bob Stetson, September 8, 2011