The Bad with the Good

It always happens this way.

Today I got the news that a friend of mine passed away. Sarge was my boss at the Renaissance festival, and I'm sorry if this sounds cheesy but it's true; it's more of a family than you'll ever know if you've never worked there. A large, disfunctional, costume-wearing family, but a family none-the-less.

Sarge worked with his wife, Anna, in the back kitchen in the booth singularly known as "Sarge and Anna's." They traveled all year long so they could work at different festivals around the country. Sarge had large hands like paws, which he would wrap around your own hands in a warm greeting that was entirely his own. He was enormously sweet and absolutely friendly all the time, to everyone. Two summers ago he brought in a box of hand-woven pieces for everyone in the booth (I suspect) based entirely on the fact that Alsn also likes to weave. He was so much like an adopted grandfather and even when he was obstinant he was still funny and good. I just plain liked him. I think everyone did.

Maybe I'm a snob but I don't think I would have liked working anywhere else nearly as much as I enjoyed working at Sarge and Anna's. What's worse is that they're the kind of people you never expect to go away because they're just essential to the whole idea of the "The Ren Faire." I don't know if Anna will do another faire, not without Sarge. I don't know if I want to do another faire without Sarge and Anna, and Alsn, who seems to think she can go to Japan without me.

My heart goes out to Anna and her whole family. I wish there was a way to make it to the service. If my heart hurts, I can't imagine what they're going through.

But I suppose it's standard that while horrible things happen, good ones happen too.

My mom just finished another big part of her school and is that much closer to being an around-the-clock drug abuse/domestic violence councilor. She's been working on this since I was in high school and what she's done for herself is definitly something to be proud of.

More big things have happened this year than I can ever remember happening in such a short amount of time. Death, marriage, travel, natural disasters, and upheaval... slow down, please. Slow down.