Re: [Mid] Some thoughts about Jafar's passing.........

On Mon, 5 Jan 1998, Sally Burnell wrote:

> I find I am having difficulty in accepting Jafar's passing, and I wonder
> why. We only met a few short times, shared some laughs, talked a few
> times about other stuff and that was about it. I am raging against the
> bacteria that killed him. How dare they!! How could someone so young and
> full of life so suddenly be stricken down and taken from us?

You are not alone.

>I also find
> myself wondering why the power of all of our prayers and vigils was not
> enough to save him. This, again, leaves me wondering......how could the
> pleas of people the world over not be heard? Why? It leaves me
> questioning my own spiritual beliefs and wondering if such things really
> work.
>

        At the risk of actually talking about religious matters on the
middlebridge I will attempt to engage you in this topic without crossing
over the line.

        Sometimes things just happen. Whether it is by Divine will, fate,
destiny, karma, magical ritual, prayer, action of the collective
subconscious or simply just random chance. Sometimes these things seem to
go counter to everything you thought about the way the world works.

        But whether there is a cosmic reason for these happenings or not
nothing stops us from giving meaning to them. If Jafar's death seems
wrong, then grieve. But if it seems senseless, stop yourself right there.
Any great change in our lives is an opportunity to re-examine how we live,
and a blow like this is most certainly a wake-up call. If you need a
reason for this tragedy, then give it one. When we lose someone who is
dear to so many people, it is an event that can affect all those people in
a positive manner. I, myself, didn't know the man very well, but seeing
the loss to the society has made me all the more determined to give back
what we lost from his death.

>
> I guess this is the natural reaction of one who has spent 20 years in the
> SCA. I have always considered us to be as family, despite the fact that
> so many of you alll I have never met face to face. And yet I feel a bond
> with all of you out there who post to this list on a regualr basis. I see
> your names day in, day out, and it's like having e-mail from tons of your
> friends every day. Some of you I have known for a very L-O-N-G time, some
> of you I have never met. And yet there is a common bond that is the
> reason we have all come to the SCA. Anytime someone, especially of
> Jafar's stature, passes, we are all in some way diminished. It's as if a
> light has burned out forever. There is a small dark spot, never to be lit
> again.
>

        All the more reason for each of us to try to shine as brightly as
we can.

        Corwyn Draca,
        Shire of Mynydd Seren

From: Aaron Bilodeau <abilodea@indiana.edu>
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Received on Mon Jan 5 19:34:20 1998