As you know by now, these names and addresses are pulled from 30 years ago and I do not know the people. I have used these names as if to ask these real people to represent certain characteristics of humanity, basically to stand in as actors in a play about life.Today Donna stands for one small but important aspect of a real person I know/knew, John. For the past short time John fought through the ravishes of painful cancer. The manner in which he and his partner shared their experience, with open-eyed honesty, integrity, and admitted need for a dignity that was difficult to hold onto, has influenced me no end. While these two were fighting the most profound battle of all, I have been playing the demon in a fight for ego. During my thorny, wormy, muddy, broken-mirror experience there stood J and A beside me, mired up in more mess than I can imagine, but representing a clarity, cleanliness of human essence to the world that I can only marvel at. It was only when I stood up from my cesspool of self-indulgence, shook off the crap, and embraced them that I felt right in the world. Hand in hand with their abstracted encouragement I was able to create the 900 Lives, to get out of my small self and to do something that turned out pretty big.
November 4, 2010, John relinquished himself to whatever comes next.
Blessings to you, John Tinker, and to you, Adrian Card.
You both will always be sheltered in the deepest part of my soul.
Posts
