Serendipity

A few months ago I was doing some research on Chestnut Lodge, the hospital in Maryland about which I write in my upcoming book. I came across a familiar name, Dr. Donn Murphy.

In 1965, shortly before I left the hospital, I was lucky enough to be involved in the production of a play, The Importance of Being Earnest. This play was directed by a young drama professor at Georgetown University who worked at Chestnut Lodge. Could it be the same director? I wrote to him and asked if he were the same one, signing my email Ruth, but my email signature said Dr. Ruth Simkin. Dr. Murphy wrote me back and said he was indeed that very director, but he did not remember me. Occasionally, doctors stepped in for patients at the last minute, but he did not remember a Dr. Simkin. However, he went on to say, he remembered Lela, and Ward and Chunky Ruthie and....I immediately wrote him back to say:

"Donn! I am chunky Ruthie! I did not become a physician for another eight years after." Well, then the emails between us started passing fast and furious as we both helped each other down memory lane. Donn is now Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University and President and Executive Director of the National Theatre in Washington, D.C.

I told him I had written a book about my experiences at Chestnut Lodge, and in fact, there was a section in the book about the play. We had a very unusually successful run, mainly because we had several professional actors in the cast, plus a superb director. It was such a good production that Donn decided we should perform it at Georgetown University - which we did - to a full house (and good reviews, I might add). This was after two or three performances at Chestnut Lodge and then a day or two off before going to Georgetown. On the day of the last performance at Georgetown University, two of our cast members started to go manic and Donn had to decide what to do. The rest of us wanted to keep them in their roles, saying we would cover for them, and Donn agreed. The result was hilarious; I wrote about that experience in the upcoming book.

The photo above shows many of the cast in the final minute of the play at Georgetown University. I am the one on the far left, playing Cecily, with Lyons, playing Algernon with his arms around me. Then Lela as a most statuesque Lady Bracknell, Claire as Miss Prism, and Jefferey and Barbara as Earnest and Gwendolyn. It was quite a production!

I never realized how deeply moving it can be to "find" someone I knew forty-five years ago and have not seen or spoken to since. As soon as Donn and I started communicating, memories flooded back, but even more importantly, it gave such a sense of realism to my memories. After all these years, they sometimes seem a long way off, but talking with Donn about them and our having the same recollections and knowing the same people, made the memories fresh and real and strongly felt in my heart. It was an incredible experience!

Several wonderful things happened from our reconnection. One is that I will be reading from my book at the Noon at the National author's series on April 15, 2010. (http://www.nationaltheatre.org/noon/noon.htm). Another is that I am going to see Donn again and spend some time with him reconnecting. And then there is the fact that my whole experience has taken on another stronger and deeper dimension because of our recent communication, something for which I am so grateful.

I hope that Donn is the first of many new "old friends" - I would love to meet more people from those days. Perhaps they will come out to my reading or find me on the web. If anyone out there knew me in the 60's, please write. I would love to hear from you. Life is truly serendipitous.