Goodbye Lydia

[killersmom]

The card accompanying the flowers from the forum.



A VISIONARY WHO LIT UP EVERY ROOM. OUR HEARTS ACHE.
THE BROKEBACK FORUM

[Dave Cullen]

The card accompanying the flowers from the forum.



A VISIONARY WHO LIT UP EVERY ROOM. OUR HEARTS ACHE.
THE BROKEBACK FORUM

i think the flowers look great.

i was mildly annoyed that he wrote "Broke Back" as two words. i very specifically said it was all one word, and then i typed it up and sent it to him in an email, too.

do you think he never heard of the book/film? or thought it was two words?

well, we know. i imagine most people will read it the same.

[killersmom]

I think so Dave.

[Dave Cullen]

p.s. i tried to honor lydia in my own peculiar way friday night by playing a song from my Forbidden List, and listening to it as i imagined her hearing it. (which i'd often done while she was alive, and then sometimes emailed her the song.)

but i've had some screwup and deleted some crucial songs from my iphone. my all-time favorite song by anyone, Stay Free was gone! yikes. i thought that would be a fitting goodbye. but it was missing, so i searched around for others.

i couldn't quite bring myself to "Death or Glory," and not sure she'd relate to that one, but I played "This Is England," which feels so melancholy yet anthemic. (Anthem to a rising force not yet congealed?) It remains in my head right now. Still buzzing up there.

...A voice spoke so cold it matched the weapon in her palm:

This is England
This knife of Sheffield steel
This is England
This is how we feel

http://www.metrolyrics.com/this-is-england-lyrics-the-clash.html

----

(My Forbidden List is a dozen or so songs that are precious to me an in danger of death by overplay. They only have a limited number of plays before they grow inert. (Or at the very least need long fallow periods.) They can only be pulled out for very special occasions, or dire need.

Other songs include "Jane Says," "There is a Light That Never Goes Out," "Broken Arrow," and a slew of Graham Parker's work: "Stick to Me," and most of "Squeezing Out Sparks," my all-time favorite album.

[Sason]

I have a suggestion.

Are you in contact with any of Lydia's relatives, Dave?

This thread is so full of beautiful and heartfelt tributes to Lydia, what if you printed it out and sent it to them?

[Dave Cullen]

I have a suggestion.

Are you in contact with any of Lydia's relatives, Dave?

This thread is so full of beautiful and heartfelt tributes to Lydia, what if you printed it out and sent it to them?

Thanks, Sason. She didn't have a lot of close relatives. She was an only child, and her parents died long ago. She has several cousins.

I have been in contact with some of her close friends, who have read the thread and really appreciate it. I'll see if they would be interested in a printed copy.

[Sason]

I'm glad if my idea can be of any use.

But since her close friens already read the thread, mabye the need for a print out is no longer there.

[BrokenOkie]

Dave - my deepest condolences to you.  The passing of a dynamic and wonderful friend, as Lydia has been to you, brings great pain and sense of loss.  I hope you know how proud Lydia was of you and your accomplishments.  If there are guardian angels, you have a dandy keeping a watchful eye.

Glenn


It was always a pleasure to work with Lydia on various forum activities and projects.  The most time she and I spent together would have been marketing efforts for Beyond Brokeback in 2007.  We emailed a lot, PMd frequently, and visited by phone several times.  The phone calls were always a special treat.  I adored her delightful southern drawl, and she often mentioned something she called an 'okie twang'.     Over the course of time (gosh, it seems like only a few days ago) we bent each others ears over any number of forum goings-on - tech issues, TDS, modding challenges, Dave, the start of the financial stuff, Dave [oh, I already said that] and other fun things.  No matter the subject at hand, be it a problem or a celebration, she was upbeat, positive and always fun.  And she knew how to make things happen.           

It was both a pleasure and a priviledge to know Lydia.  I will miss her.  So, enjoy your wings, dear KittyHawk.  Now you can soar without your pilot's license.  (What a gal!)

From the Beyond Brokeback site:

KittyHawk                                                                             
Managing Editor
(63) Retired education technology director
Frankfort, Kentucky



Lydia Wells Sledge, the instigator and managing editor of the book project, is a former math teacher and technology director spending her retirement indulging in the arts. She loves to learn and has even begun learning about opera from Forum friends. She thanks all of her esteemed book project colleagues, past and present, who have given her many smiles, taught her many things, and expanded her horizons in wonderfully unexpected ways.

[ingmarnicebbmt]

The card accompanying the flowers from the forum.



A VISIONARY WHO LIT UP EVERY ROOM. OUR HEARTS ACHE.
THE BROKEBACK FORUM

This is beautiful.

thanks for posting

[jack]

yesterday i got a friend recommendation from facebook for lydia.  i blocked it so that would never happen again.  too painful...and creepy.

[CellarDweller115]

I just found this on Facebook, posted to one of my friend's wall. 

"When A Friend Bids Goodbye"
 
My dear friends,
close your eyes...
hold my hand,
and hear me whisper...
 
For the times I was lost,
you were there to look for me.
Will you believe me when I say I love you more than you'll ever know.
Will you trust me when I say ...this time you have to let me go.
 
My dear friends, I must leave.
The world no longer needs me.
It's my time to be gone, until we meet again someday.
Don't you cry now, I know I'll be okay.
Trust that I'll never forget you.
Don't be sad now, just close your eyes until it's through.
Hold my hand, don't open your eyes yet...
wait when I no longer whisper..
 
My dear friends, you'll be fine.
I'll be up there watching over you.
For the times I'll be gone, don't ever forget
the words I whispered to you.
 
God calls on my name... and I have to let go of your hand now...
Please don't cry... and smile for me..
because I'm with the one who made us friends.
 
Remember, I'll always love you.
so come, wave me goodbye...
It'll be painful but we have to...
Hug me, hug me tight, feel the words I can no longer say.

My dear friends, I'm going to miss you.
just pray because I'll always listen.
and one day, when it's your time,
I'll be there for you...
Just like the way I used to.
...I love you...

[dejavu]

How moving.  How not to cry?