Pam & Jeanne’s Headstone, by me
This morning, a good friend sent me a text message about life and love and keeping on. It’s the 5th anniversary (is that a good term for it?) of our friends’ deaths in a firey car accident on Interstate 80 in the middle of Nebraska. The photos I have of them are on a disc somewhere, so what I have today for my blog is their headstone, which is over a 1000 miles from me at the moment.
I’m glad my friend could be as grateful for the day as she sounded (it was a very positive text, acknowledging the loss and the fact that we’re still here to keep on keeping on). I still think back to the night I learned of this tragedy and how devastating the loss felt. Feels. I dunno, I’m so removed from feelings lately that I’m a bit removed emotionally… although I can sense it in all the tentative ways that I don’t let people in much anymore.
That said, I have let people in, and it is all of those living people that I’m thinking about right now, wishing we were all just a little more in touch but knowing it’s the endless struggle to do so.
So, anyway, back to Pam & Jeanne. They sure were good role models for me. They really approached the world in a non-nonsense and kind way. They gave a lot; an awful lot. They were gifted, and warm, and kind, and helped build an incredible community of people. The last time I saw them, we were all at a peace rally together, and they were both wearing all white, it seemed. Maybe they both just had white t-shirts on. And I keep thinking of the song, Little Wings, which I had etched onto the back of my iPod.
Now I don’t want to be a jet airliner, I just want to be a little bird
I don’t want to rip the skies wide open, I just want my song to be heard
And I don’t want to be state of the art, I don’t want to get there overnight
I just want to be part of all this beauty, want to be part of all this flight on little wings- Kris Delmhorst