I’m so proud I feel like I won the award myself.  And I’m not surprised  the teeniest bit that my cousin, Debbie Fowler, was the winner out of 100 nominations for the Fargo Forum’s Most Beautiful Women Project.  She is everything and more that publisher, Bill Marcil and his wife, Chris, had in mind when they dreamed up the idea of expanding the definition of beauty as an inner quality which would inspire women in society and create a positive influence for the community, and the world for that matter.  Debbie is their first recipient and her picture and story takes up two pages of Monday’s paper.

Fargo Forum November 21, 2011

Her story would inspire anyone. The Forum  starts the piece – “Through tragedy and triumph, Debbie Fowler knows laughter is the best medicine!” And goes on to tell the tale of how her third son was diagnosed at 18 months with brain cancer, written off at first by the doctors, but Debbie and her husband, Rick, decided to go through with the aggressive procedures and Kenny defied the odds and at 28 now, has won multiple awards at the Special Olympics each year.  Just ask him – he’ll show you!

Kenny with medals

Last year her second son’s wife died suddenly, leaving a four year old and three year old twins and guess who has stepped up to help raise Joey’s children?

Alex, Nolan and Aspen at Sarah's memorial

Less than a year before that sad event, Debbie shocked us all by being diagnosed with an aneurysm in the brain, which was actually a good thing  because  brain surgery would  fix it before it was too late.  And she saw all that as “divine intervention” because she said “God needed me to be here to take care of these grandkids.”

She’s the kind of person who doesn’t think twice about driving for two hours in the middle of the night to pick you up at the train station and then be up at dawn making biscuits for dozens of relatives camped out at her farm for a family reunion. And she’s the sort you’d most like to be with on a hay ride turned into a blustery drenching you’ll never forget.

Debbie laughing behind me. "Holding grandchildren!"

At our Aunt Effie’s 90^th birthday some years ago, she decided to put some fun into the celebration and come as a clown.  And that’s how La Ditzy was born. The whole experience resonated to the extent that she was soon off to Clown School in Branson Mo. and since then has been one of the founders of Clown Camp in San Bernardino Ca. and is on the board of the World Clown Association and even went to India last year for the International Clown Festival.  And Kenny has a new calling too, as a result – Kidder now clowns with La Ditzy.

Introducing LA DITZY

La Ditzy with niece, Kjelsey

KIDDER, AKA Kenny

Yesterday I sat out in the freezing garage in the car, in order to listen to her radio interview (Christopher Gabriel, on WDAY-AM named her one of “Gabriel’s Angels” on his program) and blubbered as I  heard her dubbed “THE EPITOME OF POSITIVITY”.  I couldn’t have said it better myself.

I’m so glad to be part of her gene pool.

Once again, I can't resist - The Reunion- (Debbie in bright green in the middle)