From Katie Benham...
When I think about my childhood in Westchester and the people who werea major part of my life, Dom is one of the first people who comes tomind. Although I was younger and not nearly as cool as him, I lookedup to him. I remember how during Halloween season, I would lookforward to coming home from school because Dom and Benji and the restof the crew were coming over to put build the "haunted house." While Ihave always been an admirerer in my own right, one thing that makesDom very special in my life is how much my brothers looked up to him.I had Amy to look up to and the boys had Dom. I appreciate so much thefriendship that Herbie and Dom have had in LA- one of the most solid,positive things my brother has had since he has been there. Back inthe fall, I was spending a lot of time in LA for work. I met up withDom a few times, for drinks at the Sofitel, Mexican food in SantaMonica. I had such a good time just talking to him. There wassomething so comforting and comfortable about hanging out with someoneI've known since I was 5 years old. Additionally, someone who was sonormal and mellow after everything he had gone through. Thinking abouthim running a marathon, with cancer, amazes me. I consider myself adecent athlete, but I haven"t come close to doing that, However, if hecan do it with cancer, I certainly have no excuse not to. Last weekwhen Herbie and I were at the hospital visiting, I was so touched bythe love and support that surrounded Dom which is no surprise becausehe is one of the most special people I have ever known. Thank you,Dom, for being in my life.
From Herbie Benham:
This past Halloween was epic. When I had first decided to have a party, I knew that Dom had to be involved. The dude has the most ridiculous knack for Halloween stuff. He showed up 3 hours before party time and within an hour and a half had my house looking like a horror movie set. It was just like old times. Dominic decorated the haunted house at my parents Halloween party for years, and even as a preteen and young teenager he was way more talented than any Hollywood set dresser.
Dominic's talent. Good Lord. An absolutely unbelievable artist in every medium. He recently, (probably 6 months ago) did some artwork for my band that he probably whipped up in a matter of minutes, but I will treasure as long as I live. I'm not sure if Mattel knows how lucky they are to have had Dom working for them, but it doesn't matter, because his talent speaks for itself. That's the funny thing about him, as huge as a personality as he can be, he is so humble and casual about his work.
When I first moved to LA, 5 years ago, Dom was the first person to call me. I was a screwed up, dysfunctional, confused 19 year old, and the confidence that he exuded on the voice mail he left me was so disarming that I don't think I got back to him for at least 6 months. When I did, he took me under his wing just like he had in Bakersfield. He made Los Angeles seem like a breeze, just another city to be conquered and enjoyed at our leisure.
For the past 3 years, everytime I've seen Dom, he's greated me with some variation of "Whatsup Brother?" Never bro, brah, or any crap like that. Brother. He has truly been my big brother from another mother. I cannot begin to describe what an honor it has been to be on the receiving end of that title. I could not have asked for a better big brother, because looking back, Dom has been there as long as I can remember, always watching my back, every step of the way. Whenever his sister Amy became completely exasperated with myself or my brother Sam when she was babysitting us, she would resort to, "Dominic would never do/say that." That always put us in check. - H
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Dominic, Amy, Don & Jane represent to me all the best about raising a family in our old Westchester neighborhood. My most vivid memories of Dom have to be the October afternoons in our backyard during the weeks leading up to our annual Halloween party. My little guys, Herbie and Sam, would race home from Franklin School knowing that Dominic, Benji, Larkin and Jeff would soon be there to work on the haunted house in our garage. Those were golden afternoons, magical times in Herbie's and Sam's childhood and in my life as a mom. Dominic, the creative genius, always included the younger kids in his life of imagination and let them help and play. Later on, I remember Dom's amazing haunted creations in the Ambriz' front yard on Elm Street, always the most exciting stop for Thomas on Halloween. Also, I remember Dom taking the time to apply an amazingly disfigured horrifying face mask to Sam when Sam was 9 or 10. (There was nothing Sam liked better than scaring me.) One of my gifts from Dominic was that I saw him not only through my own eyes, but also through the eyes of my children. As Katie said, he was the boys' hero while Amy was the gold standard for Katie. I always knew that Amy helped raise my children. Now I realize that Dominic did, too. And his lessons of the past two and a half years have been the most profound of all. Don and Jane, what a gift you have given us. Love always, Sue
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