Fleeting

So, I found out this week that a woman I used to work with in New York passed away suddenly last week. As some of you know, I worked for over 5 years at 4Kids Productions in NYC as an audio engineer and editor. 4Kids produced a ton of kids cartoons, mainly imports from other countries that they then dubbed and reedited for US audiences. 4Kids has a main stable of voice talent that they have been using for many many years, most of which I became very close with when I was working there. One of these actors was Maddie Blaustein.

When I met Maddie in 2002 I only knew her as Maddie, a woman. But she had not long before been known as Adam living her life as a man. She made the decision to live as a transgendered woman and by the time I met her she had very much become accepted as such around the office. Nonetheless, she continued doing the mainly male voices she had been working on already for years. She had no qualms about this, and was totally comfortable with who she was, who she had become, and the life she was living. She never shied away from talking about her gender, or her somewhat alternative lifestyle. She took everything in stride and never took anything too seriously. And she was hilarious, a total character. I'm not saying she wasn't difficult to work with at times. She WAS an actor, and actors are never easy. But she was friendly and kind and open.

She was probably most well known as the voice of Meowth on the Pokemon series, that 4Kids produced for the US for 9 years. But over the years I recorded her doing what felt like a million voices. And she was incredible. Honestly one of the best voice talents I've had the privilege of working with.

Maddie was always tremendously friendly to me. I think maybe I responded to her a little differently than the other, male engineers. Maybe I was more comfortable around her. But no matter why, she always came in asking me how I was, wanting to hear about my day, even asking for advice on projects she wanted to do. We bonded over our pets - she loved animals dearly and had a parrot and cat that she adored and spoke of often. I can't say that we ever became that close, we never hung out outside of work or work functions, but I am honored to have known her and to have been able to call her a friend.

So now with that all said and done, I am reminded of the unpredictability of life. Yes, I am going to get deep here, but for God's sake it's the holidays. I hate that it takes someone dying every couple of years for me to remember that every day and every moment is important. Maddie died in her sleep. Days before, she had been at recording sessions at 4Kids. If I had been there recording her I never would have thought to tell her that I thought she was incredibly talented, or that she made me happy when she made me laugh, or that I was in awe of her ability to live exactly as she wanted despite others' disapproval, or that I thought it was great that she had no qualms about using the ladies room at work. But then she walks out the door and now no one gets to tell her those things if they haven't already. Yes, perhaps she knew these things, I hope she did. But really, how much more effort does it take to tell your friend you love them before they walk away? I have lost a number of amazing people in my life, some suddenly, and I feel lucky that we didn't have words unsaid between us when they passed. But time goes by and I think about telling a friend how important they are to me and then put it off. Or I go visit my parents and leave without telling them how amazing they are that they managed to raise two unbelievably difficult children, and keep us from ending up serial killers.

I think if anyone has made it this far through my diatribe, you understand what I'm trying to say. Life is short. Tell someone what they mean to you today. Right now.

RIP Maddie.
October 9, 1960 - December 11, 2008