Part II: R.R.O. - White Daisy Passing

       

    

 #108

08.28.10

    

White Daisy Passing - Rocky Votolato

      

R.R.O., my mother-in-law of 17 years, was diagnosed with Stage IV (metastatic) cancer on 06.29.09.  After exactly 365 days of some terrible lows and a few brilliant highs, she passed away on 06.28.10.  Today is the two-month anniversary of her passing.

   

I will not be able to write a proper tribute to her, which I had hoped to do.  Perhaps some future day, when I have been able to wrap my brain around it all.

   

For now I will have to let the photos and the music do most of the speaking for me.  But I will mention that R.R.O. loved daisies, and that I miss her, and that I understand her more after her passing than I did while she was living.  I feel badly for that, and can do nothing but accept it and try to be better about understanding those who surround me now.

   

And I will forever look at daisies in a different light.

    
  

These were taken this afternoon.  The rain, the drooping daisies, the listless flag... everything is as it should be.

  

 

  These three photos were taken with my Canon Xsi on the day of her funeral viewing.

  

  

  

This simple, candid iPhone photo is how I will choose to remember our R. forever.

 

I was privileged to spend a full week alone with her and my father-in-law, D.H.O., in March, 2010, and took this one night during a glorious Arizona  sunset.  It is the last photo I took, and will ever get to take, of her.  It is also the last time I stood near her in life.  Despite the devastating loss, D.H.O. has been an anchor for the family through it all.

 

I will always love and miss you, Mom.

 

CCE

  

Part I: Daisies of the Galaxy

   

  

#107

08.23.10

  

Daisies of the Galaxy - Eels 

  Today's entry is another example of my inner "circles" colliding, and spilling out into this blog.
  

I've been collecting photos of daisies this past year with the iPhone camera, though I can't say I've ever particularly appreciated daisies before.  There is a reason for it, of course, and Part II of 'the Daisies' series will further elucidate why.  It has been a struggle for me getting to that blog entry, and my hope is that this gentle Part I might pave the way for me to get out the painful Part II.

   

This is just a gorgeous song by my man Mark O. Everett - the genius behind the band Eels.  It manages to create a bittersweet feeling to my mind's ear.

 

...

I'll pick some daisies
From the flower bed
Of the Galaxy Theater
While you clear your head

   
I thought some daisies

Might cheer you up 
   

***
   

There's a sense of innocence in the way the boy perceives his friend to be confused or sad, and offers to pick some flowers that "might cheer you up".  I also like the how the title Daisies of the Galaxy conjures images of something large, or of epic grandeur, when really it's about a rundown movie house with a simple flower bed.  

  

The Eels will release their new album "Tomorrow Morning", er... tomorrow morning, as it were.  I thought it fitting to honor the occasion by featuring an older song from their catalog tonight.  Interestingly, iTunes releases the new albums every Tuesday morning at 12:01 a.m., which happens to be 8:01 p.m. in Alaska... which means I get to cheat the universe and download albums on Mondays instead of Tuesdays.  Ha!  

 

It's like plucking Daisies from the Galaxy.

The daisies featured in this blog are from my yard.
  

Please stay tuned for Part II (unless I chicken out, again).

   

CCE