Monday, March 22, 2010

thoughts of fun-filled madness

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

My sisters and I have been sports fans our whole lives, primarily because our dad brought us to A's games since we were little. But in college, I was introduced to a new dimension of sports fan-dom in the form of March Madness. My own initial introduction was an exciting one, celebrating in Westwood with fellow Bruins after UCLA won the 1995 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. However, it would be a couple more years until I filled out my first bracket.

Since we lived together while she was at UCLA, Cindy joined me and Andrew in our excitement when March Madness came around. Being from Kansas, Andrew has been a fan of the Jayhawks his whole life. So Cindy and I were destined to become KU fans as well. Every year, we would have our own apartment bracket challenge, with one or two other friends joining us. We would each complete our own bracket before the tournament began, and keep track of the game results on one of the walls in the apartment, using the large bracket we would get from the Daily Bruin.

In 2003, rather than using the one from the newspaper, Cyn decided that she wanted to make her own bracket for the wall. So she got out a copy of the bracket, a large piece of paper (I think from one of those easel-sized presentation pads), some colored markers, and a ruler. And that's how we kept track that year. I still have that bracket somewhere, although I don't recall whether we had a chance to fill in the results from all the games.

The last couple of years, we've been conducting our bracket challenge online, with our sisters, husbands, daughters and friends. We all have differing levels of interest and knowledge of teams, using methods like team colors, school location, mascots, or whether the school has a "V" in its name as criteria to choose who moves on in the tournament. But win or lose, it's all fun, it's often madness, and it's yet another special, annual event that makes me think of Cyn.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

thoughts of what happiness is...

shared by Andrew Beall, her brother-in-law


I have been a fan of the characters created by Charles Schulz since I was very little. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and the rest made an impression on me at a very early age. It was exciting to me to find out that Marlo and her sisters shared my appreciation for the work of Mr. Schulz. Arlene is a big Woodstock fan. And Cindy, used Snoopy as her nickname in various UCLA activities.


Cindy ran for the office of Financial Supports Commissioner in the student government at UCLA. As part of her campaign, she and the other members of her political slate got together and made large, billboard size signs to represent them. Cindy knew that she wanted to have Snoopy be a part of her sign, so she asked me to draw out an idea for her. We worked on it together, and one Saturday morning, gathered with her friends in a park to make the signs. I went under the impression that I was only going to work on Cindy's sign, but ended up being asked to help on several others. It was a fun day, and Cindy's sign turned out just like how she wanted it to.


I was very proud of her when she won the election, and took her place as part of the student government. She was able to make a difference in her own way.


Since Cindy passed away, I have always known that she is watching over my family, helping us when we need her. She helped to get Marlo and I back in the bay area, got me a job at Pixar, and kept us safe and happy. Last May I met the family of Charles Schulz, and they offered me a job. It came about in a way that was surprising and unexpected. Because of this, I knew that Cindy was pushing me to make a change in my life.


Now I get to draw Snoopy for a living.  Things have come full circle you could say, as my love of the Peanuts characters, and my love of my sister have joined into one amazing opportunity. I think of Cindy when I draw Snoopy, and I'm happy she is with me.