My friendship with Margie started out alphabetically; that is, Mrs. Land's 7th grade homeroom in the hallowed halls of Pikesville Junior High. Chapin ~ Clayman. From that day forward, we were always in homeroom together, right through to 12th grade. When you think of all the last names A - G, the fact that we were always together is pretty incredible, I think. We had a smattering of classes together too, more frequently in junior high, not so much in high school. But there was always homeroom and lunch (always the same lunch: a cheese sandwich because her father the dentist said cheese was good for her teeth, and albeit, Margie's teeth were lovely). I have two regrets when it comes to Margie: one, I never properly thanked her for helping me survive Miss Politino's gym class, a whistle-wearing woman that I am probably still in fear of til this day; and two, we discovered as adults that we went through some pretty similar childhood crap that was poignantly tragic for us individually, and we could have, should have, helped one another through some of that, but being the seventies, our social apps were kitchen telephones with very long cords and actual, real face-to-face time, and being children of affluence, we were taught to be grateful for what we had. Maybe I blame that dinosaur Home Ec as well, "teaching" us the proper way of young ladies, & if you missed Margie's impression of Home Ec teacher Mrs. Brubaker you missed something grand. Margie Chapin was and always will be my fearless friend ~ she said it like it was ~ and in my attempts to be more like her, I, too, shall say it like it was: Margie Chapin, thank you for being my friend, and a truly wonderful one you were. I know you are up there in the Heavens, giving the angels and G-d what to think about! And you know what? They are listening.
First, I wanted to say how beautiful Sharon Clayman's words above were about Margie.
Margie and I had a very long history. We went all the way back to nursery school and kingergarten, where we were playground playmates. As I mentioned in my post on her Facebook page, there is a photograph somewhere of her sitting next to me at my 5th or 6th birthday party. I can still picture her bright red hair and the smile on her face. I need to find that picture!
Starting in 2009 on Facebook, Margie always wished me a happy birthday and reminded me about our carefree playground days:
"Happy Birthday! I was at your birthday parties when we were in Nursery and Kindergarten together at Chizuk Amuno! It was you, me, and Billy Crystal! We used to play “Lost in Space” on the playground jungle gym! And I remember one year you had clowns at your party (they frightened me!)."
I can only recall seeing Margie two times over the last 15 years or so, but each time she flashed her big smile that displayed her genuine happiness for the encounter. So sad to see her go so young.
So sorry to hear of Margie's passing. I have such fond memories of us playing together as children. While we drifted off in different directions I'll always remember her smile and her sweetness. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.
Sharon Clayman (Goldner)
My friendship with Margie started out alphabetically; that is, Mrs. Land's 7th grade homeroom in the hallowed halls of Pikesville Junior High. Chapin ~ Clayman. From that day forward, we were always in homeroom together, right through to 12th grade. When you think of all the last names A - G, the fact that we were always together is pretty incredible, I think. We had a smattering of classes together too, more frequently in junior high, not so much in high school. But there was always homeroom and lunch (always the same lunch: a cheese sandwich because her father the dentist said cheese was good for her teeth, and albeit, Margie's teeth were lovely). I have two regrets when it comes to Margie: one, I never properly thanked her for helping me survive Miss Politino's gym class, a whistle-wearing woman that I am probably still in fear of til this day; and two, we discovered as adults that we went through some pretty similar childhood crap that was poignantly tragic for us individually, and we could have, should have, helped one another through some of that, but being the seventies, our social apps were kitchen telephones with very long cords and actual, real face-to-face time, and being children of affluence, we were taught to be grateful for what we had. Maybe I blame that dinosaur Home Ec as well, "teaching" us the proper way of young ladies, & if you missed Margie's impression of Home Ec teacher Mrs. Brubaker you missed something grand. Margie Chapin was and always will be my fearless friend ~ she said it like it was ~ and in my attempts to be more like her, I, too, shall say it like it was: Margie Chapin, thank you for being my friend, and a truly wonderful one you were. I know you are up there in the Heavens, giving the angels and G-d what to think about! And you know what? They are listening.
Murray Siegel
First, I wanted to say how beautiful Sharon Clayman's words above were about Margie.
Margie and I had a very long history. We went all the way back to nursery school and kingergarten, where we were playground playmates. As I mentioned in my post on her Facebook page, there is a photograph somewhere of her sitting next to me at my 5th or 6th birthday party. I can still picture her bright red hair and the smile on her face. I need to find that picture!
Starting in 2009 on Facebook, Margie always wished me a happy birthday and reminded me about our carefree playground days:
"Happy Birthday! I was at your birthday parties when we were in Nursery and Kindergarten together at Chizuk Amuno! It was you, me, and Billy Crystal! We used to play “Lost in Space” on the playground jungle gym! And I remember one year you had clowns at your party (they frightened me!)."
I can only recall seeing Margie two times over the last 15 years or so, but each time she flashed her big smile that displayed her genuine happiness for the encounter. So sad to see her go so young.
Bill Crystal (Crystal)
So sorry to hear of Margie's passing. I have such fond memories of us playing together as children. While we drifted off in different directions I'll always remember her smile and her sweetness. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.