Dewey (30 page)

To my friends, who always got me through the dark times and laughed with me in the good times, including my Run Away Women friends who consulted on the book: Trudy Henry, Faith Landwer, Barb Feder, Idelle Walton, Rita Mathine, and Pauli Wright. To Bonnie McKewon, friend and colleague, who read an early manuscript and made suggestions; her husband, Ron McKewon, who supported Dewey though his art; Dorothy DeGroot; and my many local friends for keeping me sane.

To my mentor, Dr. Roger Greer, and the professors from Emporia, who gave me the knowledge and tools for a successful career, not just in Spencer but across Iowa and beyond. I still use “Greerisms” in all the classes and workshops I teach.

To Dewey’s doctors, Dr. James Esterly, Dr. Sophi Franck, and Dr. Tom Beall, for taking gentle care of him. To “Ashes To Ashes” for donating cremation of Dewey’s remains along with his fur basket to keep him warm and Marty Mouse to keep him company. To Warner Funeral Home, thank you for donating Dewey’s memorial stone.

And, finally, to Dewey, my magical little buddy for more than nineteen years. I can still feel the heartstring that connects us, and I will never let go.

Special Thanks to the great lowa writer Bill Kinsella, whom I had long admired but never met, for his wonderful endorsement and for allowing me to paraphrase from his book
Shoeless Joe
(and the movie based on it,
Field of Dreams
) on page 129. No one will ever express the magic of Iowa any better.