Heading home from Utah

[fenchurch]

I'm woefully behind on LJ, even though I had internet access here at my in-law's place... I just really haven't had time to get online. Last Friday I drove from Kirkland down to my aunt's place in North Ogden... with a stopover in Boise for a small, impromptu family gathering -- my aunt and uncle and one of my cousins had driven up to visit another cousin and his family... and my mom and step-dad were there to meet up with them as well. The timing was absolutely perfect and was one of the deciding factors in my making the drive down in the first place.

Saturday morning I woke up early and finished the drive down to Provo... I must admit there were a few times on the road when I started wondering if it was going to be worth it, or if I would have been better off staying home and sending flowers, but I'm *so* glad I was able to go to the funeral. It was sad and happy and filled with wonderful stories about Sue's life. Her brother made a comment that she was a bit like the story of the blind men and the elephant... all the people in her life tended to see mostly one or two sides of her and were surprised when they got to see more of the whole picture. It was so true... none of the SF&F crowd knew that she'd been an officer in the Navy, a good number of the people she went to church with had no clue she was into science fiction, all of us were surprised to see the beautiful watercolor paintings she'd done (it was a hobby she'd taken up in recent years and turned out to be quite good at).

If anyone is interested, Sue's obituary is here, at least for now. I think it's funny they chose that photo, because apparently just a few months ago she was coerced by a friend into getting a glamor shot done... but she really was a fairly informal sort of person.

After the funeral, most of the fannish contingent headed over to Brick Oven Pizza for an early dinner and lots of reminiscing. It's not going to be the same without her here, and she was one of the last of the "old guard" in local fandom. It was also wonderful to see so many old friends again, although I wish the circumstances had been better.

And now, I'm just about to hit the road again, for the long drive home. Thankfully, my mom will actually be at her house this time, so I can stop for the night in La Grande, OR instead of trying to push it all the way home (I trip I used to do quite a bit, actually, before I got smart and realized I didn't need to be in that much of a hurry).

Comments

[kenrand.livejournal.com]

next time you're in Utah, give me a call.

[geojlc.livejournal.com]

I just have to say that I LOVE Brick Oven! :-) That and the Malt Shoppe... :-)

I know what you mean about learning things about people at their funerals. I learned a whole bunch of neat things about my Grandpa at his funeral earlier this year...

Have a safe drive home. My family is well familiar with that trip. We'll be doing it next week... :-)

[deborahw37.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry about the loss of your friend but very glad that you could go and pay your respects and learm more abut what sounds like a very full life.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Well, dang, I wish you could have stayed longer. :( But I'm glad you got to come down.

[rosiewook.livejournal.com]

What an amazing woman! How lucky you were to have known her. How sad to have lost her so soon, though.

A good reminder to share all of our lives with our friends. So much nicer to know the full person.

Safe travels!

[lage-nom-ai.livejournal.com]

Safe travels.

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

So sad to lose your friend but she had an amazing life and will be missed.

[rahirah]

I'm glad things worked out so you could go. Sounds like it was very much worth it.

[pmgoose.livejournal.com]

Glad you could go. Wishing you a safe trip home.