Another woodcut based off of this photo that I took in the Salton Sea this past March. This motel, which was thriving during days long gone at the Salton Sea, has since been demolished. I need to make some fixes to this block as well (if not redoing the whole block completely) before I make edition prints of this one.
“Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less.” -Rabbi Julins Gordon
“A memory is a photograph taken by the heart to make a special moment last forever.” -Anonymous
“We discover in ourselves what others hide from us and we recognize in others what we hide from ourselves.” -Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues
I’m not exactly photogenic, but I like this photo of me. Taken by the kind and very talented Joe Justice who you can see at the top of this post with the boxing gloves. His awesome twin daughters have also been my models. I should post some of those photos sometime.
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
I just wanted to give a big thank you to those of you who have called me, sent me emails or text messages during the last few rough weeks. I’m hoping that the stream of unfortunate events is over. It means a lot to have people who are caring and supportive.
Donna’s memorial service was this weekend. As funerals go, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but that’s probably because I couldn’t cry any more than I already have. The eulogy by her sisters was the saddest thing in the world and brought back so many memories of the time I had spent with Donna and the cute and funny things about her. There was a slideshow of photographs, a table of her favorite items and memoirs shared by other people, and a collection of videos that were her favorite. Her sisters made a great mix of her favorite tunes to give to everyone…many of which she and I had shared as favorites.
Although I’ve known Donna for at least a couple of years, it was last year at a Morrissey concert when we really bonded. After he started playing, a lot of people went rushing to the front and I was one of them. A security guard stops a bunch of us and wouldn’t let us closer. I felt a tap on my shoulder followed by an “Andi!”…it was Donna…standing right next to me. Later, I grabbed her and practically broke her arm as we went hurdling over barriers to the front where we were only a few feet from Morrissey. We cried because we were so happy. It was a good night. I still have that ticket stub. We went to a lot of concerts, exchanged music, shared stories over dinner or just hanging out. It also gives a whole new meaning when listening to some of my favorite bands (The Smiths, Morrissey, The Go-Betweens, Glen Hansard, and Smoking Popes). I won’t be able to listen to them now without thinking of her.
Anyway, it was only appropriate to share Donna’s favorite things about the Smiths and Morrissey at her memorial service because they were also her favorite band. I had never known anyone who loved them as much as Donna did. The video below was shared during the service and seemed to bring a slight smile to everyone’s face, which is what Donna would have wanted. It’s a clip from a British TV series called Blackpool. It makes me laugh every time I watch it and thought I would share it. We’ll always be thinking of you, Donna.
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