A Year And A Day

Yesterday was the first anniversary of the passing of a friend. Her name was Adrianne Blue Wakefield-St. George, but I knew her as the Pink Princess. She's someone I met about a decade ago in the gossip groups on Usenet. I was instantly captivated by her, though, at the time, I was sure she was actually a gay man playing this flamboyant character. No one could actually be like that in real life I would think. Flame wars ultimately chased a lot of people away from the gossip groups and that should have been the end of knowing each other, but instead, I was lucky enough to stay acquainted with on various email lists. When she started her own list, I was over the moon to be invited to be a part of it. And that's where I really got to know her. The outrageously fabulous character she played online wasn't a character. It was her. She lived in a castle overlooking the Mississippi River (or the Princessippi, as she called it.) She had a staff to run the house. She threw these amazing parties at the castle. One day, I always told myself, I would attend. How amazing it would be to meet her face to face. I finally made it to a party in her castle, but unfortunately it was too late to meet her. In September, her husband hosted a memorial service for her, on her birthday. Ken and I flew to Chicago and met up with a number of people from her online inner circle. It was such a bittersweet experience, but one I'll treasure my entire life.

Yesterday in the mail, I received a pink envelope. The Prince had a dvd produced for the guests of the Memorial. It includes a photo slideshow from the Memorial, video footage from it as well as a movie he put together that was shown at the Memorial. That movie included slideshows as well as home movies and a reel of her appearances on the Home Shopping Club. I popped the dvd in last night, climbed into bed and made it about 37 seconds into it before I started crying. Although we never met in person, she was no less of a friend because of it. There's still rarely a day that goes by when I don't think of her. Here's to you, Princess.