Growing up in city led to many good memories.
I read with interest the recent column about Willem Dafoe’s comments comparing Appleton to a favela — a Brazilian slum — in a recent Vanity Fair article.
I believe Willem Dafoe is hands-down the best actor of my generation and it saddened me to read his comments.
I grew up in Appleton with many good memories and some memories so awful, I entertain demons to this day. One of my good memories was living in a small neighborhood on Prospect Avenue. As a young girl, I would visit a friend down the street and be greeted at the door by his mother and a candy dish full of jellybeans.
My other favorite memories were of being in theater and plays at Appleton West High School in the 1970s. I had the pleasure of acting with many talented wanna-be actors — one in particular, Sara Dafoe, Willem’s younger sister.
After high school, I too wanted to leave the small town of Appleton and did so for more than 30 years, living abroad, in larger cities. Some memories brought me back to Appleton last year — good memories, family.
Appleton is indeed much more than a favela these days and I think if Willem Dafoe could take a refresher course of “small town USA” here in Appleton, he would probably have the opportunity to perform at the Performing Arts Center and be handed the keys to the city by a forgiving, adoring fan base of Appletonians, and the mayor himself, Tim Hanna.
Oh, did I mention it was Tim’s mother at the door, the good memory of jellybeans and a little girl from Appleton?