Linda's Random Acts of Kindness

• “……..remembers when her family visited here from Germany and they stayed at a hotel in Stamford, Ct. and Linda rushed to the hotel on her lunch hour to leave off treats for them, which meant that she did not have her lunch, instead she was thinking of Rita and her sister and husband, a natural thing to do (for someone she had never met)”.
• Travel hours, sometimes days to simply say “happy birthday” when a card would have sufficed.
• “……I had just moved that day from Los Angeles on my own. My husband would not be able to join me for a couple of weeks, and so I had to go it alone to the first Parent's Night of our daughter's new school. Feeling very much the proverbial "Valley Girl" in a skirt and blouse (my best attempt to fit into a world that felt restricted to those of blue-blood, diamond studs, and espadrilles), and socially anxious to boot, Linda was the first to greet me on that very scary night. Poised, loquacious, and dressed in culottes, I remember my friend's unique style, her wicked grin, and that self-deprecating humor of hers. Her gift to hone in on those most in need was only surpassed by her efforts to then do something about it. And that night, I was the lucky one.”
• Call a friend not because she wanted to talk but because she “felt” her friend needed the call
• "I remember on "Mother's Day", Linda would sacrifice her own "Holiday" to bring the celebration to her own Mother and Grandmother... "
• Be a shoulder to cry on, a partner to laugh with…..
• "I witnessed Linda put coins in the parking meters of other people's cars on "Greenwich Avenue" when she noticed that their time had expired..."
• Send a handwritten letter not an email
• "To her credit, and also to her detriment, Linda was a person of no boundaries. There have been so many who have sought her attention through the years, and I remember that that night was no exception. Linda was approached time and time again, and still she stayed with me, that instinct of hers at full throttle, to care for the "new one," the one who was struggling. And so, like an old friend I had known for years, she was there for me, and only for me. or at least it felt that way".
• Have dozens of cards at home ready to send out for any reason at all
• "I remember Linda unexpectedly and totally unplanned flew down to Orlando, Florida to help Phil and I with moving into our new house...I recall her saying: "I have come to help you unpack"..."let's start with the boxes"..."
• Go for a walk when someone needed her, even if she did not want to
• "With Linda's open-door policy, she would invite people into her home to become her "Family", even if it was for one day, so they could enjoy that particular "Holiday"..."
• Attend a young person's concert just because it was the "right" thing to do
• "Linda's sensitivity to the world wasn't only with humans; when she was a little girl, she collected 13 turtles, yes 13! and put them in our bathtub at home to protect them and house them"
• Embrace any family as her own
• .....and so I would imagine that the people she touched spend at least once during their very busy day thinking..."what would Linda do?"...."how can I make a difference in someone's life" even if it's a small gesture....
• She had a heart that opened with empathy, a mind that could decipher and communicate everything that would make you feel better about yourself.....
• "When in Elementary School, Linda would plan to meet me at my bus stop, because of the fear I had of the cows at the dairy farm that I had to pass along the way home...She gave up her play/study time...
• Make sure every grade she ever wrote be an inspiration
• "I told Ryan that I had such a specific first memory of Linda (not until about my senior year of high school, I think.... New Year's Party at the house...) and I explained to him, ultimately, how she just charged up to me, (let me add---- this is all at a time when I not only felt really self-conscious and scrutinized and unsure, but also oppositely, nearly completely invisible..) and said something that made me feel ultimately the exact same way you described her making you feel so vital and confident, EXCITED to be where I was in my life- and sooo hopeful. There is this incredible generosity of spirit that Linda shared, in so many ways, in ways that I think were so individualized for every person, every experience
• Even though I didn't know Linda very well- ….., she stayed with me in so many ways. She has been someone, for years now, who I have always looked up to with the utmost appreciation and respect. When I think of the way she came up to me that New Year's... how beautiful she was- how at home she made me feel, with her, within myself- how present I became within the few minutes of talking with her.... I was able to identify those certain, specific qualities I hope, every day, to practice in all the ways I can with the hope that one day I will be able to have that sort of generous and nurturing effect on people I meet from day to day, the way those qualities within her had SUCH an effect on me. SUCH an effect
• Amazing woman. We should all strive to bring, even just a bit, of what she brought to this world in such massive amounts, every single day."
• Every Christmas card (hundreds of them) personalized.
• There was a young girl in our neighborhood growing up who was born with webbed toes"... Her 4th & 5th toes were stuck together on both of her feet and also her big toe and her 2nd toe. She did have the ability to be able to stand on her toes barefooted...when other children saw this they laughed at her and she was continuously being ridiculed...the children were cruel...they called her all sorts of names (quack, quack)..and made fun of her deformity...Linda encouraged her to take ballet classes, which she did with Linda's help...Linda was able to boost this little girl's confidence and self-esteem and no-one could see her deformity under her little ballet shoes...she loved it! and was good at it! Thanks to Linda despair turned into hope for this little girl.
• Linda turned her physical challenge to her advantage and had her believe and trust in herself!! "
• Always said something to everyone she encountered to make them feel good, to make them feel special, even to strangers
• "Then she suddenly took my hand, pulled me to the Steinway, pushed me onto the bench, and opened a songbook to selections from The King and I. She didn't much like the keys in which the songs were written—not her range—and so expected me to transpose on the spot. I muddled my way through, embarrassed by the wrong notes I played on Something Wonderful, mindful that Linda was plowing ahead regardless of my insecurity, tenderly navigating lyric after lyric as she had done for most of her life when she wasn't being a teacher, a mother, a friend, or a wife. There was an ethereal quality to the moment—it essentially felt surreal, like a scene from a 1930s black and white film in which a high society cocktail party consumes the screen with witty, well-dressed friends gathered around a grand piano with Oscar Levant or Cole Porter. I so wanted to co-star in the moment with her, but all eyes were only on Linda as she consumed the music with a hunger that was the badge of her existence. It was magic"
• Be like a daughter to her grandmother and walk her through life's journey
• "As late as this past July, when she knew we were celebrating Paul and Deborah's wedding, you and she called us to personally wish the happy couple an eternal honeymoon.
  
  How appropriate that Linda, of all people in the world, she who knew how to nurture a happy marriage and maintain a warm home, that Linda should be the one to call and bestow her wishes and blessings on the soon-to-be newlyweds. It was a very touching and very moving moment."
• Be there when nobody else can…
• GCDS and Grandparents visiting day we know is a VERY BIG DEAL. Anna was well aware of her lack of grandparent participation and I was searching for a friend.... yes, as you guessed it Linda to the rescue. She generously agreed to be Anna's grandmother for the morning... but it was more than that... it was an important friendship she continued with Anna. After the morning was done, she took Anna out to lunch and shopping... an unexpected shopping day for a little girl...does it get better than that??!!! I asked Anna what she remembered and she wrote:

  "I remember she (Linda) took me shopping at the GAP Kids after Grandparents day… and I was like a legit, not pretty or cute kid, and she made me feel like the prettiest girl in the world. She had that ability to hone in on one person and make them feel like the only person who mattered. One sought her attention and approval in a very pure way. She didn't seek it or require it- but it was something we all wanted. "

• Anna and Linda's friendship was born... I was a lucky mom to have Linda and her guidance in my life. As Anna's interest in music and theatre grew so did my need to find a friend who could help me or better understand Anna's needs. I was not theatrical or even had an inkling how to navigate that dramatic world...but she did. She put me in touch with Ellen Hanley and thus began Anna's first professional voice lessons. She also genuinely cared about Anna's progress... Anna remembers even performing for Linda and Alice one time in your living room. Anna recalls:

  "She had a warmth about her and a way of complimenting and nurturing talent and instilling confidence. I remember singing in that living room with her and feeling like because of her strength and encouragement I was comfortable to perform in that setting."

• Always giving to others before ever thinking of herself.
• More to come...

These are just some of the comments we've collected.
There will be more to come

If you wish to contribute a memory of one of Linda's random acts of kindness please email it to us below

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