Director’s Note:
The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble
By Bradley Moss
Working on Beth Graham’s play has conjured memories of my Dad’s mother, my grandmother Daisy Moss. She was the hub of our family; gatherings always occurred at my grandparent’s house, the good times and the sad times were both celebrated with lots of great food by Daisy. She was a quiet or shy type but she sure liked to giggle and she had a wonderful sereneness about her.
When she was in her mid eighties she had Alzheimer’s and was in a home. One evening after dinner, when she was visiting my Dad’s house, we were playing dominos and Daisy kept asking who had played – as her short-term memory was now a real struggle. Then in the middle of the game she started to tell a story about when she was 21 and in a stage show in 1942. She was able to describe the show and so many details around it; how she got time off work to perform, how her part was small, how she remembered standing backstage for many hours, how it had helped her with her shyness, and how it led to meeting my grandfather. When she told us this story I knew in my heart it was her DNA that had been passed on to me and had helped me towards leading a life in the theatre.
Everything shifted in our family even before Daisy passed away because we lost her as the hub of our family, and now my Dad’s two brothers and two sisters are still trying to figure out how to gather and where to gather with eight grand kids and 12 great grand kids. When the hub of a family is lost it is like everyone is flung into outer space. It is the hub that keeps everyone attached, grounded and connected or as Beth Graham describes Bernice Trimble in her play, these special folks have a gravitational pull to them. They seem to easily attract family around them, but it is because they call and write and reach out with news of family members and they help keep us all revolving around each other.
Thank you Daisy.
