Dalee
For those of you who read the article about me written by Dale Reynolds for A & U Magazine, you are farmilliar with my friend I mentioned there, David Lee (Dalee) Henderson. Dalee passed away last week and left behind an amazing legacy of inspiration, unyeilding faith, and conviction. He is the person from whom I have learned so much about unconditional love. He conducted his life with elegance, dignity, and honor like very few people I have known and he was revered by all who knew him as a spiritual bastion in tumultuous times. The outgoing message on his answering machine is an excellent snapshot of who he was:"WAKE UP!! And experience the love, the light, the joy, the splendor, the MIRACLE of life. Simply by being alive, you have been invited to the greatest show in the universe. Sit back, relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy the show... Leave a message."
-Dalee Henderson 1952-2005
Thank-you Dalee. We all loved you so much.
And that is exactly what he did with his life - leave a message.
Who in your life was an inspiration to you? Who left a message with you that shaped who you are? And because of their influence, what message will you leave? Please share a tribute to them here.
Much Love,
ALL THINGS POSSIBLE,
Chris
*****************************************
PS: Here is a rare behind the scenes pic of my buddie I mention below, Gregg Hoffman. Gregg was one of the producers of George Of The Jungle 2 and a wonderful human being. He had just produced the SAW Franchise. He was kind and fun. Actually, you can see him in George of the Jungle 2 for about a second. He is the man at the craps table in Las Vegas wearing the black shirt that roles the dice just before George does a belly flop on the table.
Gregg Hoffman 1963 - 2005
posted by Christopher Showerman @ 12/03/2005 01:07:00 PM
13 Comments:
At 11:59 AM, December 04, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
There are no words to express what Mr. Dalee brought to the people he touched. Although I only met him once and was in his presence briefly, his presence made such an impact in my life. I am honored to have experienced him. He redefined the term "living", and he will live forever in the lives of the people that he touched. I have never met someone for such a short period of time and can say that I loved them. It was not until he walked away on the day that I met him that I realized what had happened. I was in the presence of God's best. Dalee knew what he was and whose he was. I thank God for the opportunity to have been blessed with the sweet,loving,fearless spirit of Mr. Dalee.
At 7:01 PM, December 04, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
I only know of Dalee Henderson from what I read in the article - but clearly he is someone who has contributed a lot to many people, and there can never be enough people like him in the world. I am sorry to hear of his passing.
I have so many people in my life who were, and are, an inspiration to me. Of those who are no longer with us I think the influence of my grandparents is probably the strongest - the message they left was one that taught the value of living honestly, lovingly, and intelligently. Also, to respect everyone and really live the "golden rule."
I hope to leave a message that tells the value of community - and that we need to celebrate our sameness as often as possible and stop dwelling on our differences.
Hope that makes some sense...
Dave
At 8:05 PM, December 04, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
I, too, like Dave, was only familiar with Dalee Henderson through the wonderful articles by Dale Reynolds. Dalee seemed the kind of person you'd hope to have in your life...and if you had such a friend, as Chris found in Dalee, that would be an awesome blessing for a lifetime. I believe the message "in the bottle"...so to speak...will surely travel in the sea of love that Chris has set afloat on this website. I know that beautiful message is one I'd like to take to heart, to remind me to appreciate what life brings me...and think about what message I am leaving with the people I meet each day.
There are many people who've influenced who I am today...my mom, my grandmother, an "adopted grandmother" from my church, a longtime close friend....all now passed away...and a particular minister from our church, who had a huge effect on my family...not only on me, but on my husband and my daughter and son. I think I need to check up on him soon, and thank him again. All you needed was a hug from him...and you'd feel the healing power and love of a compassionate friend.
At 10:31 PM, December 04, 2005 ,
Christopher Showerman said...
Thank You Cindy!! I loved the way you described Dalee as God's Best. He left a great example for the rest of us to aspire to!
Dave - I think you make a world of sense with your finding the sameness in all of us. What an awesome way to live!! The common threads that bring us together create a tapestry called humanity. Awesome comment - thanks for writing in.
Sue - what a lovely tribute - the healing power and love of a compassionate friend. That is a power you share with your family and the world as well. Thanks so much for sharing.
All Things Possible!
Chris
At 2:08 PM, December 05, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
I think we are inspired by many people around us, family, friends, colleagues, authors, actors... like the different threads of a tapestry creating a picture.
My greatest inspiration came from my mom and dad who taught my sister and me the values in life and left us enough space to develop our own personality. Apart from them, the biggest inspiration and influence in my life is, without question, being a fan. The funny thing is that I was told I’d grow out of it eventually. Well, I am happy to say I did not and hopefully never will grow out of it. If I wasn’t a fan, I would be a totally different person today.
There have been too many inspirational influences to name them all, but I would like to mention British actor Brian Blessed who provided inspiration through his books when I very much needed it about ten years ago. In his book “The Turquoise Mountain” he tells how he climbed Mt. Everest, like his hero George Mallory without oxygen and in the clothes of Mallory’s time. That itself is quite an achievement, but know this: Brian has a crippled foot and was already 53 years old when he went on that trip! He is a phantastic guy, so full of energy, you can feel it bursting from every page. His autobiography is titled “The Dynamite Kid” and another of his books is title “Nothing’s Impossible” – sounds familiar, doesn’t it? I was fortunate to see Brian as Captain Hook on stage in Northampton years ago. It was a great experience, though it was also kind of funny because I always wanted to cheer him when he came on stage while all the kids were booing!
The most recent inspirations, other than my friends, come from you, Chris, and the people on this board! So thank you all for that!
As for the message that I would hope to leave:
Stay true to yourself, make the best of what you get and enjoy your life as much as you can – you only have this one. And pick one dream you won’t fulfil, so you will always have one dream you can keep on dreaming.
After all, what would life be without dreams?
All the best,
Ute
At 6:22 AM, December 06, 2005 ,
Christopher Showerman said...
Thanks Ute for putting me in the company of Brian Blessed. And you're right, what would life be without dreams?
I just recieved news that one of the producers of George Of The Jungle 2 passed away on Sunday. GREGG HOFFMAN was on set with us filming George 2 every day. He was kind, humble and generous in all ways. He went on to discover and produce the super successful "SAW" horror franchise. He was 42. I have a great picture of him playing coconut ball with the apes and me in Australia. Gregg is partly responsible for casting me in the role as George and consequently hosting this blog. He will truly be missed. My condolances go out to Gregg's family.
At 7:34 AM, December 07, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
MBP says...
Chris, I enjoyed what Ute had to say about inspiration coming from you and this website. I agree. I recently was visiting a website that lists "the most inspirational website of the month"... I think we should nominate christophershowerman.com for such an honor! Your questions posed about who has inspired us in our life, as well as the tributes to Dalee Henderson and Greg Hoffman, make make me realize I should not take these inspirational people for granted. I agree with Ute...you and this website are at the top of the list! This Christmas season I hope to reflect on what you've said and think about how I might express my gratitude to those people who have meant so much to me, while there's still time. Thank you...MBP
At 9:17 AM, December 07, 2005 ,
Christopher Showerman said...
Wow, thank you so much MPB. That is a two way street. I get totally inspired by you guys in this forum as well. It's always so energizing when people of like minds connect.
All Things Possible!
Chris
At 11:47 AM, December 07, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
Hey MPB, that's a great proposition! I am sure I am not the only one in favour!
Can you give us the link to that website where we can nominate christophershowerman.com? Thanks.
All the best
Ute
At 10:12 PM, December 07, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
Ute, and everyone who'd like to nominate Chris' website for the most inspirational website of the year, the link to the site I was viewiing is
noetic.org -- It's an E-newsletter by IONS..and the website they've selected this month is the Peace Alliance...thepeacealliance.org
To nominate a website, write to tristytaylor@noetic.org
"All Things Possible"...mbp
At 8:23 AM, December 08, 2005 ,
Christopher Showerman said...
Wow, I'm humbled by your nomination. Thank-you for the kind thoughts! Maybe I'll finally get to use that Oscar acceptance speech I have lying around here!
Also, thanks Tjader for the comment about your grandfather. My grandfather had a profound effect on me as well. Like my favorite line in "As Good As It Gets" when Jack says "Makes me want to be a better man." That is the best tribute you can say about anyone!
All Things Possible!
Chris
At 7:31 PM, December 09, 2005 ,
Anonymous said...
Tjader - Your mentioning your grandfather influencing you, and anyone that was like him, made me think about my "adopted grandmother" who influenced me so much after I was married and raising a family. She was so much like my grandmother, who was a role model for me, that I immediately resonated with her the moment she introduced herself at our front door and invited us to our little country church. Although she was a generation older than me, she was a kindred spirit and we were forever friends. My husband and kids adopted her, as well. My grandmother died shortly after we were married, and my "adopted grandma" died ten years ago already. But I hope their spirits live on in me. I'm not a grandparent yet, although I'm beginning to sense the amazing power of being one, and the awesome opportunity being a grandparent can give someone. A chance to really make a difference and affect a young person's life.
At 10:35 PM, December 12, 2005 ,
Christopher Showerman said...
Hey Sue! Thanks for your comments and I'm sure that with your outlook you will indeed be carrying on the legacy of your grandmothers. Beautiful!
Adiutores - this is an awesome perspective!! I think you are absolutely right in recognizing that true honor is a highly personal virtue that can only be measured by how closely your actions in the world match your own inner code. By that definition however, it makes it highly inaccurate to judge anothers actions much less the motives behind those actions without first understanding their code of honor. In the same vein, truth and beauty are relative only to the individual and their capacity to allow them to resonate within themselves. Perhaps you have found in your experiences that these concepts have changed and matured as you find yourself at different stages of your journey - I know I have!! Thank-you so much for your comments here. You seem very sincere and passionate. Without the dark, there can be no light!
All Things Possible!!
Chris
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