A Birthday Song for Steve: We Have Been Changed For Good

"Good done anywhere is eventually good done everywhere."

~ Maya Angelou

Steve & Katie, June 2007

Last night Dylan and I had a rare night out to watch the San Antonio Symphony perform with Katie Rose Clark and Nicole Parker who have played respectively Glinda the Good Witch of the North and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West on Broadway in the spectacular Wicked.  It was a wonderful show; both ladies are SO talented and belted out number after number from past Broadway shows.  The theme of the evening was "Wicked Divas," a clever description for a collection of songs by strong, amazing divas from the stage and screen.  We loved it.

For their final number, they performed For Good, from the final scene between Glinda and Elphaba in Wicked (for those who haven't seen it). For some reason, as they sang, the song made me think of my friend Steve Damm who would have turned 44 years old today.  He was taken from us far too soon when he died of brain cancer in 2009.  He's been on my mind lately because his wife and my best friend Tyra invited everyone for the second year in a row to do an act of kindness in honor of his birthday.  Last year her goal was 43 acts of kindness (for 43 years); 200+ acts were recorded on her family's blog about Steve! 

These lines from the song reminded me of Steve: 
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

As I write this, Tyra continues to update the blog with dozens of random acts of kindness performed around the world because of Steve.  It's amazing.  We miss him so, and his passing left a hole in our lives that still feels strange, but he also left an amazing legacy in his family and everything he did during his short life that, in big and small ways, continues to make the world a better place.  So here's a song for you, Steve, on your birthday: Because we knew you, we have been changed for good.

For Good
 
(Glinda):
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good
(Elphaba):
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you

(Glinda):
Because I knew you

(Both):
I have been changed for good

 

Happy Birthday, Steve!