J. Jance: Failure to appear

Ralph and I have talked about Tanya several times since, wondering if we should make some attempt to find her. Martin Shore's first wife, Tanya's mother, died years ago. As her father's only child and heir, Tanya is due a small inheritance from his estate. The problem is, Tanya obviously has no interest in Martin Shore's money. She probably regards it as dirty, and I can't say that I blame her.

So Ralph and I continually debate the issue. Usually, we're in agreement that tracking Tanya down would be a bad idea-the wrong thing to do. Occasionally, one or the other of us wavers; then it's up to the other one to hold the line and talk him out of it. So far we've always decided against it.

I wonder sometimes where Tanya is and whether or not she's all right. Knowing what we know now, I believe it's fair to assume that Tanya Dunseth is certifiably crazy. She has spun some very complex webs as a device to shut out the terrible truth of her pathetic upbringing. Roger Tompkins called them "wheels within wheels." They're so confusing, I'm sure Tanya no longer has any idea what's truth and what's fiction. So yes, she probably is crazy, but she's certainly not a danger either to herself or to anyone else, including her daughter.

I imagine she's settled in someplace far away where she has reinvented herself and where she has written a brand-new set of roles for Tanya and Amber, although those most likely are not the names they go by anymore. And the part she's playing-the one for which she's best suited-is, no doubt, the one she created for herself without any role model in her own life-that of a good mother and parent.

So what if she's crazy, maybe even a little more so than most? God knows she has far more cause to be crazy. She's had far more to overcome.

And every time I think about poor Tanya Dunseth, I try to send a good show-business thought in her direction, wherever she may be.

"Go with God, Tanya Dunseth," I say to myself. "Break a leg."