Saturday, November 26, 2016
When I returned to college at the age of 33, I was apprehensive. I was a humanities major in the digital age and felt out of place on many levels. How fortunate I was to sign up for French! Martha took a small group of disparate ability levels and turned it into a wonderful class. I worked at JCC after I graduated, and made my first trip to Paris thanks to her (and Dan Tally's) efforts to create the Art in Paris course. I don't think my husband ever got used to my saying, "It was the best two weeks of my life!" Martha and I were at different hotels and spent only one glorious day together (while she selflessly tended to some students that needed extra care), but I never forgot it. I fell in love with the City of Light, all thanks to her.
May I also say how surprised I was to read her history? Martha never said she studied at the Sorbonne or was a Fulbright Scholar, she'd just say, "Oh, I spent some time in Europe." Talk about modest! I was lucky enough to hear her perform in Readers' Theatre, and privileged to know her as a person. She is missed.
