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MemoryBookA Mother’s Loveby Joseph Green-Bishop (66A), Euless, TexasB UP EATEditor’s note: Whether we traveled in1965 or 2000, we all have stories totell. funny stories, sad stories,memorable stories. Those stories connectus all across the eras, and even acrossprograms. Please share your favoritestory by sending it to UpBeat@uwpiaa.org.ray Medina traveled toEurope in 1967 with Cast Ato meet Pope Paul at theVatican, Princess Grace Kelly inMonaco and Chinese sailors on thestreets of Venice. Ray had beenraised on the lower west side of NewYork in a high-rise project that wasboth brutal and loving.He had joined UWP after seeingthe show on the streets of New York.When Ray was selected to travel hebrought his clothes in a worn duffelbag. It was all that his family couldafford. The journey across theAtlantic Ocean was Ray’s very firstplane ride. Many of us who werefortunate enough to travel in UWPfour decades ago flew for the firsttime when we went on the road.Ray’s mother, Mrs. Medina, wasa middle-aged single woman wholoved her 17-year-old son with anelectric intensity that if harnessed aspower would have lit up TimesSquare. I recall her being at the airportwhen we were about to boardthe KLM flight that took us toEurope. She gave her son lastminuteinstructions about hisbehavior in a place that she hadnever been. She told Ray that sheloved him.Mrs. Medina had invested nearlytwo decades of living into Ray, heronly son and her young prince whomany had given little chance ofsurviving the rough streets of NewYork. But possessed with a determinationthat only God could haveplaced in her heart and a sense ofduty that she had learned from herparents and her grandparents, Mrs.Medina lived every day of herexistence to see to it that Rayreceived more out of life than whatliving had offered her.Like all of us, Ray enjoyed Italy.The Italians were wonderful! Theyfed us incessantly. They applaudedwhen we boarded public transit busesand they embraced our youthfulexuberance and our message. Ray,who spoke fluent Spanish, told methat he could one day see himselfliving in the country shaped like afine boot. It seemed like a perfectplace, he said.Just before one of our shows in atheater in Rome, Wardell Woodard,the late opera tenor, who was one ofthe stars of our show, led the meetingthat we had before each show. Thatevening, like all of the others, wewere encouraged to share ourthoughts and news from home.We were all sitting in chairs. Ray,who seldom said anything during oursessions, stood up. He reached intothe pocket of his yellow jacket andpulled out an envelope. Slowly hebegan to read a letter that had justarrived from his mother.“Dear Ray. I hope you are well,”Mrs. Medina wrote. “There issomething I must tell you. Yourfather died two weeks ago. Weburied him last week. I did not tellyou because I thought you wouldhave come home for the funeral.And I was afraid that if you came,you would never have the chanceto return to Up with People. Ilove you.”Then Ray sat down and hebegan to weep. Before long tearsfrom all of us flooded ourgreenroom. No one knew what tosay. So, we went to do our show.That evening in Rome, each of ussilently dedicated our performance toRay, his deceased father, and amother whose endless love shapedthe life of her son.Joseph Green-Bishop traveledfrom 1966-1969. He lives in Euless,Texas, with his wife, Trudi, and theirson, Daniel.MembershipCampaign Off to aSuccessful StartThe Supporting Membershipcampaign, which officially kicked offat reunion in Tucson, began with abang! A total of US$14,971 wasdonated in July, with nearly $9,000given in either outright gifts orpledges at reunion.There was an informalcompetition among the eras atreunion. The 70s era donated themost, at $3,924. The 80s were next,with donations of $2,607. Thencame the 60s, donating a total of$1,570, and the 90s made a goodshowing with $535.Special recognition goes to theMexican contingent at reunion. Ofall the countries represented, theMexicans had the largest percentagebecome supporting members bycontributing at least $20 to thecampaign. Muchísimas gracias!We also thank the pastpresidents of the UWPIAA, whotogether gave $3,525.You can become a supportingmember too. Just visit uwpiaa.org/donate.html for more information orto make a donation.Thank You, Cheryl!For the past two years, there has been one person keeping the UpBeat staffin line, making sure we had everything we needed to do our jobs and handlingall the day-to-day logistics that kept production on schedule. That person isCheryl Alspach (95A). Her work on every issue of UpBeat helped to make sureyou not only received UpBeat every three months, you also had a variety ofinteresting, informative and memorable stories to read. Cheryl has decided tostep down from the position, and while we always look forward to “new blood”on the team, we are sorry to see her leave. Cheryl, we are very grateful for yourtwo years of service to UpBeat, and more important, for your friendship.Thank you!— Vera Hagen, Dave Martin, Sheila Walsh Dettloff, Shawn Marie (Avery) CarnallCheryl AlspachPOSITION OPEN: UpBeat CoordinatorJOB DESCRIPTION: Assists in finding stories for UpBeat, maintains list of writers and finds new writers,collects copy and photos for each issue and forwards stories to editor, creates and updates bedsheet for eachissue, responsible for seeing that production stays on schedule, responsible for handling email sent to UpBeataddress.REQUIREMENTS: Well-organized, reliable email access, broadband access preferred due to size of files youmust handle, fun to work with!TIME NEEDED: Approximately 5 hours per week at the beginning of the production period for each issue(generally over a 3-week period), plus anywhere from 2-10 hours per week at other times, depending on howmuch time you have to devote to it. 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