Another Adventure With Mel

by Donna Swagerty Shreve

Over the years I have had the privilege of making friends with some special people. December 20th I was able to get together two of my friends that have so many mutual connections. I arranged the date first with Marcia Lou McKenzie, who I have known since my 1963 senior year in high school. I had had several classes from her husband Tom McKenzie. Mel Corren and I officially met 16 years ago in a writing class taught by Dianne Runion at OLLI at U.O.P. 

Marcia Lou has Wednesdays free so we negotiated which Wednesday would work. Tom McKenzie had helped to launch Mel’s second son Donald into his career of a professional actor. They had so many occasions where their paths crossed. I picked up Mel at 9:45 and we headed to Marcia Lou’s at 10:00. She greeted us and escorted the two of us into her sun room. Conversation began immediately and continued for one and a half hours. I had aimed for an hour but an hour seemed too short.

 Their first lovely bond was Paris, France. Mel had served some of his army time there during World War II and made life long friends with several French families that has continued through their next several generations. Marcia Lou stayed in Paris with a cousin after college exploring the city with all of its wonders. It is also dear to her because Paris is where she met and fell in love with her husband.

I was able to watch up close a delightful conversation between two people in their nineties reminiscing about adventures in Paris. They were able to mention landmarks to each other that were foreign to me. I felt like I was watching a movie where we had gone back in a time machine to another era.

After Paris memories, it was on to theatre. Marcia Lou has lived theatre behind the scenes as an artist with her sewing machine and as an actor. Her father was the legendary Demarcus Brown who ran the theatre department at the then College of the Pacific. Her mother was also an artist with the sewing machine and shared her skills with her daughter. Her father worked in summer theatre on both coasts taking the family with him. Marcia Lou actually did grow up in the theatre with so many fantastic experiences along the way.

Mel has had the theatre experience watching his talented son perform in his many plays. Mel went into the furniture and interior decorating business but would have been great on the stage. He can still break out into song or a soft shuffle on demand. 

Both of them have lived in Stockton all of their lives and share common memories of the city’s past. Reminiscing about their childhood and the changing city could have taken another day. After an hour and a half we were coming up on lunch time and I felt it was time to say our goodbyes. I asked for a picture of the two of them before we left. I had taken two unposed shots but I wanted to give them a posed picture where they were in control of their own presentation. They gladly agreed and sat on her love seat together for my picture. I got the picture in one shot because they were both so joyous and beaming. It was a wonderful morning and I am so grateful I was able to bring the two of them together and witness their conversations.

594 words

12/21/23

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