In
loving Memory of Sharon Bien
JUNE 13, 1964
- MAY 19, 2003
Tribute by CHERYL STEWART
Sharon was an amazing person.
How can I write about someone
in the superlative
without sounding overblown?
She really was a fantastic teacher,
a phenomenal bass player,
an exciting drummer,
a talented photographer
with a great eye,
an inventive writer of over
30 original childrens plays,
and a really good, safe rider.
She really did take her students
to ball games and museums
on her days off.
She really did write and direct plays
for her kids to perform every year,
all on her own time.
Sharon also had a giant heart
and was a rock solid friend
who would never let you down.
to ball games and museums
on her days off.
She really did write and direct plays
for her kids to perform every year,
all on her own time.
Sharon also had a giant heart
and was a rock solid friend
who would never let you down.
The last thing
we did on her
last evening in this life was
visit with her good, old friend
who was caring for her
seriously ill father.
The next morning was a
perfect and beautiful Monday.
I helped Sharon find her
sunglasses and took what
would be my last look at her
with her indominable spirit
still attached to her powerful
body before she got on her
bike and headed off to work
teaching children from the
projects of Far Rockaway.
last evening in this life was
visit with her good, old friend
who was caring for her
seriously ill father.
The next morning was a
perfect and beautiful Monday.
I helped Sharon find her
sunglasses and took what
would be my last look at her
with her indominable spirit
still attached to her powerful
body before she got on her
bike and headed off to work
teaching children from the
projects of Far Rockaway.
Not knowing
that she wouldn't
make it out of the neighbourhood
before a truck blowing a stop sign
would end her life, and our life together,
I briefly thought with satisfaction
about what a good, strong role model
she was for those kids, and about
how cool they thought their teacher
was especially when she rode her
motorcycle to work.
make it out of the neighbourhood
before a truck blowing a stop sign
would end her life, and our life together,
I briefly thought with satisfaction
about what a good, strong role model
she was for those kids, and about
how cool they thought their teacher
was especially when she rode her
motorcycle to work.
I
looked through many photos in the weeks
since Sharon's death. A few almost capture her
strength,
her sense of fun, her inner beauty. The open face looking
back at me in those photo's will always remind me to love
just as fiercely and openly as I live.