Brogan: Why Doris?

Some sixty years ago my parents loaded up the "Beach Wagon" as our station wagon was referred to, and headed off to the Concord Drive-In Theatre, right off Manchester Street and bordering the Merrimack River.

Once you put your speaker in the window thereby preventing you from closing it completely, you were inviting hungry mosquitoes to swoop in and began feeding on every living being in the car. This was especially true on a hot and humid summer's night and it was all that when we arrived.

We were there to see the new hit film, Please Don't Eat the Daisies starring Doris Day and David Niven. The second feature was for the adults and therefore my sister and I were expected to climb into the back of the car and fall asleep on the air mattresses that filled the space.

My young eyes never left the screen during the first feature and I had a difficult time falling asleep afterwards, listening to a film I most decidedly should not have been listening to. Sister Mary John at St. Peter's School in Concord, where I was a student, would have advised me I had "occasion for sin" because I had listened.

The following week I handwrote a letter to Doris Day, addressing it to "Doris Day, Hollywood, California" and feeling very confident that it would somehow reach her. It those days before zip codes, I assumed she was the only Doris Day in California and the postal service would know where to send my letter.

Indeed it did reach her because a month later a beautifully signed still from the film I'd seen arrived on Academy Street. Inside was a note from Miss Day telling me my letter had reached the studio where she was working and had been brought to her attention by her secretary.

"That was the nicest fan letter I have ever received", noted Miss Day. She also included her home address stating, "I'd love to hear from you again and don't want your letters to get waylaid at the studio..."

Our correspondence began and never let up until Doris Day's passing almost 2 years ago at the age of 97.

It wasn't until 1973 that we first met when she invited me to visit her at her home in Beverly Hills, clearly not feeling I might be a stalker. The visit cemented our friendship and there were many visits in the years after, both in Beverly Hills and in Carmel, where she later moved.

From Doris I learned the importance of reinventing yourself after 50, by tackling new arenas and traveling new roads in life while trying things you never thought you might be able to tackle. Some were successful and some failed miserably. However, as Doris advised, "Don't end your life with regrets about what might have been or wondering whether something you'd not considered previously might have been very fulfilling."

In Doris Day's case it was the creation of the Doris Day Pet Foundation and her tireless efforts on behalf of animal welfare. In 2004 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her amazing work in that field and she turned down hundreds of offers to work in show business so that she could continue her passionate commitment.

As a friend she was loyal to a fault, treating me like someone she really valued and who brought a perspective to her life that mattered.

In 1986 I found myself in the hospital, seriously ill and having a difficult time in coping.

Hearing about it, Doris would call the hospital - having to convince the staff, the first time, that she was really Doris Day and not a kook. A chorus of "Que Sera Sera" sung to a startled staff member, did convince them. She sent gifts and when I returned home asked for weekly reports on my progress.

When she found out that my insurance had still left me with a balance of $ 10,000 owed to the hospital (which I'd arranged to pay in $ 100.00 monthly installments for ten years), she quickly took care of it without letting me know until the bill arrived with a notation that it had been paid by "D. Day". "I don't want you having that debt hanging around your neck as you continue to get well..." she warmly mentioned during a phone call.

My new path after 50 included working on behalf of NH residents infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. I also took up writing with a vengeance and penned two very successful books. The first, Was That a Name I Dropped? featured me and Doris on the cover. "I love being your cover girl," she laughed when I sent a copy.

I also, in 2012, began teaching classes with a variety of topics including film genres, Growing Up Catholic and Doris Day, my most popular class. I've taught it more than a dozen times, all over New Hampshire, and most recently for the OLLI Program at Granite State College.

This Saturday, April 3rd, would have marked Doris Day's 99th birthday. It seems only right, then, that I will be teaching the Class once again during her birthday month.

Classes start on April 13 for the Adventures in Learning Program at Colby-Sawyer. Adventures in Learning (colby-sawyer.edu)

As with all prior classes, I receive no compensation, not wanting to profit, in any way, from a friendship that brought such joy to my life. For five weeks I'll share stories about Doris, share film and audio clips that cover her vast recording, acting and philanthropic career. And yes, the inevitable "Que Sera Sera" will be heard with its philosophy of "whatever will be, will be" which summed up Doris Day's personal attitude about life.

Through 39 films, more than 1150 television episodes, over 750 recordings and as a voice for our beloved pets, she charmed and entertained and enlightened decades of individuals. And, she made a very special impact on the life of a Concord, New Hampshire resident.