Rehm & Dixon on Friendship (Rebroadcast)
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-01-13/rehm-dixon-friendship-rebroadcast
Diane Rehm and Jane Holmes Dixon first met more than 30 years ago, when they were both homemakers active in their church. Diane went on to become a nationally syndicated talk radio host and Jane became a Bishop in the Episcopal Church. Jane passed away this past December on Christmas Day. For this Sunday rebroadcast, we listen to a 2002 conversation with Diane and Jane. The two women talk about how their friendship sustained them through the ups and downs of career and family demands, and about how their relationship to each other changed over the decades.
Guests
Jane Holmes Dixon
Suffragan Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
Comments
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Diane, I am so sorry for your loss. What a wonderful woman and friend! I know you must treasure every moment you had together.
Diane, my condolences for your loss of a "beautiful friendship." I am an atheist, but whether Jane's belief in the dignity of all people is due to a "calling from God" or her own humanity (or both), I admire and respect her. And if I were to believe in God, it would be the kind of God that Jane believed in.
I have to confess that I felt shocked at the degree to which Jane struggled within her own relatively progressive church. I suppose I also felt surprised at her comparison of the church heirarchy to the military.
Diane, I don't know what your daily schedule is like, but it's so funny to learn about your 7am chats with Jane. You go on the air at 10am, and I imagine that you read quite a few newspapers, magazines, and newswires beforehand (not to mention all the other research you do to prepare for your interviews). And you also spoke with Jane. So yes, I can easily imagine how you would always have "something" to talk about with Jane.
My situation is more complicated. My best friend (other than my wife) happens to be a woman (whom I knew long before I met my wife), and my wife was never comfortable with allowing that friendship to continue as a "normal" friendship. My friend barely survives on the outermost margins of my life. I once joked with my friend about getting a sex change operation, but I suspect it would makes things worse; after all, the willingness to go through a sex change operation in order to spend more time with me would be a testament to the depth of her/his feelings. :-)
Oh, and Diane, your voice - a voice of civility, warmth, humor, and intelligence - has always been music to my ears. Please don't ever imagine taking that voice away from your listeners.