Dixie Dynamite

I just wanted to say I made a great friend seventeen years ago, who has shown me more courtesy, warmth, and humor than I had ever known from friends before. She came into me life as my sister's friend, and interested me instantly with her charisma and devil-may-care demeanor. I found out quickly about her cool family---my sister told me all about it, she rhapsodized about them all---and to my surprise went home with her one night to meet them! Where else could I go sit up till 3 am with people I just met, in their own home, with NO DRUGS?

Dixie never lacks for friends, and someone's thinking of her always. She was heavily into science fiction novels when we met, and her wonderful vocabulary opened a common world of love for communication. Her interests in poetry, witchcraft, art and music were very exciting to me, but the lady herself was just the funniest person, and so kind and generous. She would make you kick back and have fun, whereas in those days I was likely to be brooding or longing to write or play guitar. Turns out, I should've been doing LOTS more of both of those things AND learning to draw, but everyone could benefit from a little socializing, and that was a Dixie specialty.
She had a knack for befriending troublemakers, for which I should be grateful, as that got me in the door, too. I never knew anyone with more of a passion for breaking the rules, but everyone who knew her well enough to sit down with her sometime would open their hearts, as she is an involved listener. The amusing thing to remember is how much other young women wanted to be like what they thought of her, always putting together different facets, but never matching the original: because she got it, she loved people and viewed them with sardonic humor and a finely honed bullshit detector at the same time (occasionally ignored, but oh well, who hasn't?).

She always looked for something fun to do, as if shedding the angst that permeated her ideas of art and poetry, always changing, always shining like a light, for those who merely liked her and those who really appreciated her.

I remember the fun I had hearing about her classes while she was studying psychology for an associate's degree. I had married her sister, her former Shadow, her Irish Twin, and we lived the next state over attending college, but everyone else we knew COMBINED never visited us as many times as Dixie did. I am not sure if the statute of limitations has run out for SOME of our stories, so this account's less spicy than it should be! A lot of her choices and interests in life went on to shape my wife's life to great effect, and even now, whenever we hear from Dixie, she's offering advice, support, and stories, always ready to laugh.

All I'm saying is, if you have someone like that in your life---the life of the party, the calm in the storm, the rock when there's trouble, the klutz, the sister---if you have a Dixie---tell her she's Dynamite.

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