Versus Magazine has done a beautiful special issue of their magazine as a tribute to Squinternet Larnia of Donna Flora. It’s hard to believe it is already a year.
30 days ago….
Exactly at this hour you left me and all your friends…
I hope from the heaven you can watch us … your friends that think of you… I miss you, I miss our long funny chat, and our fight… because both are stubborn.. probably is why our friendship was so special and honest… nothing to hide, no fake only the truth.
❤ Hart
AVENUE Magazine Tribute to Squinternet Larnia
This month’s issue of AVENUE includes a tribute to Squinternet Larnia. It is illustrated with her own photos. Absence Is Physical, explores how her absence affects so many people and how Squinternet, in her life, was so very present when she was with people.
BOSL Fashion Week Tribute to Squinternet Larnia
The Memorial Garden
There is a memorial garden on the sim underneath the Donna Flora store. It will remain at least through the end of September for people to gather to remember Squinternet. All who loved her are welcome to organize their own gatherings of friends or to hold memorial services for her. The big tree in the foreground is a gift for anyone who wants to take it and plant it at their place in her memory.
You reach the garden by going to her main store on Florencio and taking the TP in the lobby down to the ground.
The build was graciously and beautifully done by Saiyge Lotus who even made a lovely semi-secret path through the woods behind the big alcoves of candles.
If you want to host a memorial and need something special like changing the music stream, contact Cajsa Lilliehook by IM.
In Memorium – A Gathering of Friends in Memory of Squinternet Larnia
I appreciate everyone’s kind offerings of help and the many people who reached out to help make a meaningful tribute to our lost friend, Squinternet Larnia. After many notecards, IMs, and personal conversations, I’ve followed my heart and many of your suggestions to a simple but elegant solution that I hope meets everyone’s needs and wants.
Saiyge Lotus gracious stepped up to offer to build us a beautiful memorial garden on the ground level at the homestead sim where the Donna Flora main store is currently located. She is in the process of building at this time. She has also created a beautiful memorial tree, which will be available for everyone to take, in memory as a keepsake. We thank her for her generous donation of time, effort and love for this.
The garden will be open this weekend, for anyone who wishes to visit – go to the Donna Flora main store location and take the teleport to the ground level. At 9 AM SLT on Saturday, September 14th we will be holding a secular gathering of friends. All are welcome to come and share their memories of Squinternet with us.
Anyone who would also like to use this space for their own memorial, in Italian, for a Mass, or whatever you would like, is welcome to do so through the month of September. We should all use the place to celebrate Squinternet’s time with us and remember her with love and respect.
The garden will be open for the rest of the month of September for anyone to visit and remember Squint.
Thank you so much, for all of your ideas and contributions. I appreciate all of you very much, as would Squinternet.
May eternal light shine upon her,
Gidge
Lay Some Flowers
Photo by Zmilla Rehula
You can go to the American Cancer Society’s memorial for Squinternet Larnia, place a plaque in her remembrance or lay some flowers or light a candle. Her picture is in the Memorial Garden with the many other residents who have come to the end of their road through the cancer maze. Gidge and others are making some additional plans for a memorial on her sim and when that is firmed up, I am sure she will let you all know.
A Time To Gather
When LOVE DONNA FLORA was conceived of by Cajsa, it was a two fold purpose. One part, to raise funds to help offset the enormous healthcare costs Squinternet was incurring, and the other part was to give her a gift that many of us never get – the opportunity to see what it is we do mean to other people. So often, people shower praise and love after a person dies, and we have to wonder – did they KNOW?
Squinternet knew. She read your posts on the days she was able to sit up and use her computer. She was strong enough one day to tour the event. She was amazed. It made the nights of pain and worry tolerable – because you filled her with joy and hope. It was lead by Cajsa but it was created by all of you, this great swell of love and outpouring of support for one of our own.
When the news came yesterday, Cajsa immediately became swamped with questions about doing a memorial. and it quickly became clear that Cajsa needs to be allowed to grieve. She’s worked so very hard on all of this, to the detriment of her own health on some days, that I told her I would step in and handle putting something together.
That’s where you come in .
None of us own Squinternet’s memory or our love for her. I’ve solicited ideas for what people would like to do, in memory of Squinternet on plurk and have already received many good ideas. Not all of them will be do-able but they help guide me to something that will help us mourn together, and grieve together in a way best suited to us all.
At this time, I asking all of you to please either plurk me, or IM me in world, or just leave in comments here, what you would like to see us do to memorialize Squinternet. What I will be planning will be something secular to celebrate and reflect upon her time with us, and our love for her.
I realize some people might feel a strong need to include a religious memorial. If someone wants to add that in to the plans I end up making – that’s just fine with me, it’s outside my sphere of influence however. If you would like to hold your own celebration and memorial, or 100 of them, that’s fine too.
There is no wrong way to remember our friend Giulia.
This is how I’m proceeding. I value all of your input and ideas. We’ll plan a memorial event soon – so please let me know what your thoughts are, I am very interested.
❤ Gidge
To my beloved Friend
Poem credits: Mary Elizabeth Frye
What a Wonderful World
In April, when Squinternet (Giulia) learned that her remission was waning, she uploaded a bunch of videos of her singing. When I heard them, I discovered another talent in this woman who was so blessed with talent already. It seemed, to me, though, that she wanted to share another part of herself, on the internet where this bit of her could be preserved forever, launched out into the universe to always say Giulia lived and she was wonderful and do not forget it.
She died this morning. She wanted to live and was pretty stubborn. But cancer is inexorable and stubborn, too. I cannot say she “lost the battle” because she never wavered in her passion for life. There was no weakness of will that let cancer “win”. I hate that phrase because the only struggle people with a terminal cancer have is the struggle to live as well as they can and she won that struggle.
She did live well in the ways that matter with so many friends that showed their love for her before her death. That’s the wonderful thing. She was a wonderful woman, full of love, laughter, generosity, kindness and fun. To me, that’s a winner.
I am sure folks will want to hold some memorial in-world. I can’t wrap my head around that at the moment.
Love Donna Flora 