Memorial to Dead Friends

[PICTURE-flower]   [PICTURE-flower]
                Green Moth

The night the green moth came for me,
A creamy moon poured down the hill,
The meadow was a silver sea,
Small pearls hung from every tree,
And all so still so still.

He floated in on my white bed,
A strange and soundless fellow.
I saw the horns wave on his head.
He stepped across my pillow
In tiny ermine boots,
And spread his cape of green and yellow.
He came so close that I could see
His golden eyes, and sweet and chill,
His faint breath wavered over me.
"Come, my child, my beautiful." said he.
And all so still so still.

--Winifred Welles
 

  
[PICTURE-flower]   [PICTURE-flower]

 

            A Clear Midnight

      This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
      Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
      Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes
                  thou lovest best:
      Night, sleep, and the stars.

      --Walt Whitman

 

These are some of my closest friends and romances; and are part of our Mukluk Communal Family and Friends. We lived together or hung out together, traveled up and down the West Coast together, hugged each other when we were crying, got drunk and stoned and partied and laughed and raged and adventured together, and were lovers and Platonic true loves and pals in different combinations. This page is a fond wallet-size memory of the dead.

[PICTURE-Dennis]      [PICTURE-Dennis] (30k jpeg)

Dennis

my best friend
a member of the Mukluk family (Dandelion Mukluk)
murdered in 1984

[PICTURE-David] (57k gif)

David

the sweetest, nicest, most romantic boyfriend I ever had
died of AIDS, 1986

[PICTURE-Reggie] (28k jpeg)

Reggie
a.k.a. Anton

my "twin sister"
a member of the Mukluk family (Jewelweed Mukluk)
died 2001 from multiple causes related to AIDS

Sara

my co-conspirator and psychic inspiration
a member of the Mukluk family (Tiger Lily Mukluk)
died in 2001

[PICTURE-Tommy] (58k gif)

Tommy

a comedian, whose impression of Imelda Marcos shopping for shoes will live forever
died of AIDS, 1987

[PICTURE-Timmy] (16k jpeg)

Timmy

touched by angels, touched by demons
a member of the Mukluk family (Moonflower Mukluk)
jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge, 1978


Snappy

Snappy

sweetheart, excellent cook, co-hosewife with me on Potomac st.
died of cancer 2011

[PICTURE-Sunflower] (10k gif)

Sunflower

a ray of sunlight
a member of the Mukluk family
died of AIDS

[PICTURE-Poppy] (12k jpeg)

Poppy

Pa Mukluk
we looked after the kids together
died of lung cancer and AIDS, 1996

[PICTURE-Buzzy] (8k jpeg)

Buzzy

a good friend and sweetheart
died of AIDS, 1994

Grasshopper

Grasshopper

sweetheart/devil/creator of chaos/entomologist
a member of the Mukluk family (Queen Anne's Lace Mukluk)
accidental overdose and heart failure, 2007

[PICTURE - Ivan]
Ivan in part of his installation
inspired by the New York City blackout

Ivan

an artist; one of my sweethearts
died of complicatons from a car accident and HIV, 2004

[PICTURE-Ori] (4k jpeg)

Ori

one of my favorite models
heartthrob
died of AIDS and other complications

[PICTURE-Kirk] (7k jpeg)

Kirk

wild boy
died of AIDS, 1994

[PICTURE-Marce] (17k jpeg)

Marce

lost angel
a member of the Mukluk family (Periwinkle Mukluk)
died of AIDS

  • [PICTURE-Marce] Marce (22k jpeg)
  • [PICTURE-quilt] the AIDS quilt panel I made for Marce (41k gif)
    the statement that went with the quilt panel:
    Marce Seidler
    Periwinkle Mukluk
    He lived in the Mukluk commune in San Francisco in the early 1970s
    He was very sweet and sentimental
    He liked plants and had a nice succulent garden on a mountainside in California
    He always saw the silver lining
    His guardian angel saved him from many a strange and dangerous situation, except for the last time
    He died in Chicago in March 1989
[PICTURE-Randy] (4k jpeg)

Randy

a sweet confidante
a member of the Mukluk family (Century Plant Blossom Mukluk)
died of AIDS

[PICTURE-Tomata du Plenty] (33k jpeg)

Tomata

found, lost, found, and lost again...
died of cancer, 2000

[PICTURE-Ralph] (12k jpeg)

Ralph

a member of the Mukluk family (Tulip II Mukluk)
saved me from terrors long long ago
died of AIDS

Here are more dead friends, along with some people I knew and liked, but never got to know that well. About one third died of AIDS, one third overdosed on drugs and one third died in various other ways, including suicide, non AIDS-related medical problems, car accidents, and one mysterious unknown cause. Many didn't make it to 40, some didn't even get to be 30. If I left anyone out, it is because I didn't have a good picture or haven't found it, or maybe I didn't get the news yet.



  [PICTURE-Alvoye]   [PICTURE-Babette]   [PICTURE-Billy Orchid]
l to r: Alvoye, Bobby/Babette, Billy Orchid



  [PICTURE-Bobby Star]   [PICTURE-Coco Vega]   [PICTURE-Daniel Scandal]
l to r: Bobby Star, Coco Vega, Daniel



[PICTURE-Danny]   [PICTURE-David]   [PICTURE-Douglas]
l to r: Danny, David, Douglas (LaTrelle sent this picture; and here's a drawing Douglas did)



  [PICTURE - Jack]   [PICTURE-Jason]   [PICTURE-Jerry]
l to r: Jack, Jason, Jerry



  [PICTURE -Joe Morocco]   [PICTURE - John Apple]   [PICTURE-John]
l to r: Joe Morocco, John Apple , John Burroughs



  [PICTURE - John]   [PICTURE-Kim]   [PICTURE - LaTrelle]
l to r: John Flowers, Kim, LaTrelle



  [PICTURE-Leilani]   [PICTURE-Mary Ann]   [PICTURE-Martin]
l to r: Leilani, Mary Ann, Martin



  [PICTURE-Michael]   [PICTURE-Prissy]   [PICTURE-Rick]
l to r: Michael, Pristine Condition, Rick



  [PICTURE-Rick J]   [PICTURE-Rodney]   [PICTURE-Tahani]
l to r: Rick, Rodney, Tahani



  [PICTURE-Teddy]   [PICTURE-Wally]
l to r: Teddy, Wally

 

            Portals

     What are those of the Known, but to ascend and
           enter the Unknown?
     And what are those of Life, but for Death?

     --Walt Whitman

 

 

[PICTURE-bell jar]


from "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll


'He remarked to me then', said that mildest of men,
'"If your Snark be a Snark, that is right:
Fetch it home by all means--you may serve it with greens
And it's handy for striking a light.

But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day,
If your Snark be a Boojum! For then
You will softly and suddenly vanish away,
And never be met with again!"'

...

They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care:
They pursued it with forks and hope;
They threatened its life with a railway share;
They charmed it with smiles and soap.

...

Erect and sublime, for one moment of time,
In the next, that wild figure they saw
(As if stung by a spasm) plunged into a chasm,
While they waited and listened with awe.

"It's a Snark!" was the sound that first came
to their ears,
And seemed almost too good to be true,
Then followed a torrent of laughter and tears,
Then the ominous words, "It's a Boo--",
Then silence. Some fancied they heard in the air
A weary and wandering sigh
That sounded like, "--jum!" but the others declare
It was only a breeze that went by.

They hunted till darkness came on, but they found
Not a button, or feather, or mark,
By which they could tell that they stood on the ground
Where the Baker had met with the Snark.

In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away--
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.


[PICTURE-distance]

 

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