A Swimmer Among Us

Jul 5, 2010

Beauty is more than skin deep. But, this person is truly blessed, because she extends her natural beauty to the world around her!  Many may know Beverly Dubrin as the woman behind coordinating and packaging the remarkable gift baskets we’ve auctioned at our raffles for so many years. Or, some of you may know her, along with Dixie, as the “fun-suited” dolls at the 6:45 swims during holiday seasons. Still fewer may know her as a coordinator of birthday coffees, which she arranges every month to celebrate swimmers’ with an upcoming birthday.   The celebration is not a big, all-out extravaganza, but a simple measure to make each person feel special that day. She welcomes any swimmer who wants to participate in these birthday coffees.

In one of my conversations about 6 weeks ago, I discovered yet another beautiful thing about Beverly.…  Inspired by the efforts of another group of WCM swimmers in the not-so-distant past, Beverly recently organized some of her fellow workout buddies to drive one of our senior members to and from workout. Calling on others in her workout, Beverly was able to sign up drivers to take the swimmer to and from the pool. She created a spreadsheet, filled in with the names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of each driver, along with a list of backup drivers to fill in when needed. Everyone in the “Swim Shuttle” knows how to reach one another. Beverly reports that at least one member of her group may be helping their senior out with some computer training. 

In the case of the other group, the drivers soon expanded their outreach.  Soon accommodations were made for hair appointments and doctor appointments, eventually becoming surrogate family to our swimmer.   In fact, one routine drop-off led to the investigation of a faulty microwave, and eventually the repair of a serious fire hazard. WOW! 

Every encounter with Beverly is charmed with new discoveries. She, in fact, is a published author! Her book, which came out just this past April, is titled Tea Culture. The opportunity came about when a publisher found her from previous articles she had written.  (She was also editor of a newsletter, but now maintains a blog: http://wheretoguide.blogspot.com.) In her book, you’ll learn about worldwide culture of tea and its history, and find recipes and more. She tells us through her research she discovered a company in South Africa that turns recycled teabags into art. This company has been instrumental in bettering the lives of local people there. Interestingly enough our own Mindy Hamway, who was working in Cape Town at the time, was able to visit this particular company, and bring back some of the artwork. It’s all in the book, which can found at bookstores or ordered from Amazon.com. She will be giving a few lectures about her book this coming Fall.

To be able to freely give makes us all feel beautiful, and Beverly empowers us to do just that - give freely.   Now, if you ask her how she maintains such a youthful appearance, she just might help you out there, too.  It’s my guess that being active and swimming will rank highly in her recommendations.
 
(Submitted by Mary Williams)