VIV Moments

Hometown

Park City, UT; Culebra, Puerto Rico

Joie de VIVre

ANYTHING to do with the water (scuba, snorkel, kayak), ANYTHING to do with the snow (downhill skiing, tubing, making snowmen) and, especially, playing the piano with 3 year-old Dash and making 1 year-old Sadie belly-laugh.

VIV Moment

At the age of 7, I could see it. Me!: tossing my hat into the Minneapolis skyline. Me!: being the subject of the lyrics, “Who can turn the world on with her smile? … You can have the town, why don’t you take it? … You’re going to make it after all!” The successful, independent career woman, Mary Tyler Moore, my childhood hero. Me! Me! Me!

So, I buried my nose in the books. I didn’t fear being a geek! I was going to be Mary! Graduating with a triple major from Stanford University, I was on my way — a stellar education that would, I knew, put me on my course (if not in the poorhouse first).

Where else to move but the land of glittery dreams: Hollywood. A gig with B-movie producer Roger Corman gave me credits (writing, directing and producing). And opened doors. Eventually, Francis Ford Coppola named me his producing partner. One day, while cruising down the Hollywood Freeway in my newly purchased BMW convertible (well, more owned by BMW Financial Services … but you get the gist), heading to a meeting with the president of ABC, I wondered, “Hey Mary, have I taken the town?”

A few days later, the question became inconsequential. I knew of too many people rushing into their New York offices to start another hectic day one fateful September morning. And when, a few months later, my new husband’s young nephew plunged to his untimely death, mortality became all too real. How could I turn the world on with a smile, when I no longer felt like smiling?

There were happy moments. An unexpected surprise came when the EPT test showed not one, but two lines. And after Dash made his appearance March 31, 2004, my husband suggested living a dream we had playfully discussed: sailing the Caribbean for several months — just me, my husband and our infant son.

Could I do it? I didn’t know. What about my career, after all? I certainly had misgivings. But rest assured, Mary, I thought: I’m not giving up … just taking a break … and I will be back.

Soon after, we pulled anchor on our 41-foot sailboat, aptly christened Dirty Diapers. For eight months, we sailed 42 islands, learning about rich histories, distinct cultures and unbelievable plights. It wasn’t that long ago, after all, when numerous people of Montserrat lost their homes, livelihoods and lives to one angry volcano. And for the people of Dominica, earning enough money for dinner is their daily struggle. Yet all of these people seemed happy. All found a way to be content in simplicity.

And then there was the moment. As I lay on an 11-mile, pink-sandy Barbuda beach with my husband and son, making sand castles and no one else within view, it dawned on me that months had gone by without my checking the satellite phone for a call from a network bigwig. I couldn’t remember the last time that I practiced a pitch in the hopes of selling the “Big One.” I no longer desired to return to the rat race. Hollywood was thrilling, but for me, nothing compared to spending time with my family, cherishing every moment.

I stood up, walked to the water, threw my baseball cap into the air, and said, “Hey, Mary, I have made it, after all.”

But wait: There was a second moment. While in the Grenadine Islands, we watched Rastafarian ladies sitting under coconut trees, stitching away with needle and thread. Before our eyes, used flour sacks were transposed into sturdy market bags. Then and there came our inspiration to start a business — and WeBe Bags (“We be bags, mon!”) was born. Our eco-friendly totes are sewn and produced indigenously in the Grenadine Islands from used farm sacks, colorful local fabrics and authentic sail ties, and come in several styles. Our “Wholegrain Bag” and “Cream of the Islands” collections are sold in boutiques throughout the Caribbean and the United States; but being true to our home residence of Park City, UT (and borrowing from the Rocky Mountains’ cowboy history), we also now have a ranch sack collection, featuring bags such as the “Howlin’ Wolf” and “Little Big Horn.” Through WeBe bags, we hope to introduce agri-cool fashion to the masses — and make industrial chic obsolete! Check us out at webebags.com.

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