By Bixyl Shuftan
Death is the last thing on the minds of most
people when they log onto Second Life. Unfortunately, people behind the
avatars can expire, and the previous week brought three reminders that
our virtual friends can one day be beyond our mortal reach.
Last
week, Julie Apocalypse passed away after a long struggle with cancer.
She was best known in Second Life for becoming the Queen of Bohemia in
Tiny Empires. Besides a memorial being built for her, a service was held
in her honor by dozens of her friends. Mojo Fiddlesticks and Raymond
Goalpost headed the service. Mojo told those planning to attend Julies
real-life funeral that it was requested purple be worn, I am attending
for each and every one of you.
Raymond gave the following speech, Thanks for everyones patience with
the move. We have all gathered here today to remember Julie Apocalypse.
She passed away on May 17th, 2009, leaving behind family, friends, and
her legacy which has touched many of us here in SL. I know that people
are perceived in many different ways, depending on circumstances, and I
wish to share with you my thoughts about Julie and then allow others to
speak as well.
I have only known Julie though the game we played
called Tiny Empires. From what I know of Julie, it was one of her
passions. Julie was always eager to teach, to coach, and to help
players, no matter what kingdom they were from. She was competitive, but
fair. She relished running Bohemia and being online at all hours to not
miss the next Trader or Festival. She was dedicated to leading and
guiding all of us Bohemians, which in a way she saw as her children. She
was witty and had a great sense of humor. And she was a stickler for
proper spelling and use of language.
Many of us didn't really know
how sick Julie was till we heard of her passing. Unfortunately, I knew
along with several others which she had sworn to secrecy. And sometimes
it was a burden to bear, but something you do for a friend. After Julie
moved in with her daughter to become closer to her family, she was
online much less often. She would still visit from time to time, but her
visits would be short due to the amount of pain she was in. She was
always trying to protect her Bohemian children from the truth and she
put up one hell of a strong fight.
It was during one of these
last visits to Second Life when I spoke to her. It really summed up for
me what she felt about the spirit of Bohemia. Julie had come online to
give us our tax amnesties, etc., and she TPed me to the castle so that I
could liege her in preparation for my ascension to lead Bohemia. So I
TPed, and in one of those great SL quirks my avatar appeared naked to
me! Too embarrassed to ask Julie if I was naked, I acted normal chatting
with her as I checked my clothes in my inventory and saw that yes, I
was fully clothed, so not to worry. So we carried on, discussing her
health and small talk, then lieged, and she told me she must go, due to
her back being so sore.
I bid her goodbye and TPed to my home and
was almost instantly asked, WHY ARE YOU NAKED? Naturally I turned a
deep shade of red and meekly IMed Julie, Um ... Julie? ... was I naked
when I was with you? And she just said to me, Why yes you were. I
thought about saying something but ... what the heck ... this is
BOHEMIA. We had a good laugh about that, and I know that as she logged
out of SL she had a smile on her face. ... And that is whats important.
Making special memories, laughing each day, and having experiences we
can smile about.
I know that only scratches the surface of Julies
personality, but she will be forever remembered by me for who she was
and what she stood for.
I also have a message from Steelcobra Calamari who could not be here today, and asked me to speak for them:
Hello all, friends, friends and family of Julie, Bohemia. Sorry I could
not be there as at this time I am just getting off work (wishes he
could fire his RL boss). Well, just want to say ... Julie was one who
inspired, motivated, and was always determined. She was a guiding soul
to those that knew her. Willingly and selflessly helped those in need.
She also had much humor as well. She always insisted that I should be a
misfortune teller and open up my own psychic office. She will be missed
on the physical. But know that she will continue to love us and smile on
us in Spirit.
Raymond concluded, and Mojo spoke next, I used to
take pleasure in talking in innuendoes ... that were sometimes so near
to the bone. And Julie never told me off. (laughter) Her only exception
was that she thought the word arse should be permitted. ... lag sorry.
When she became ill, she refused to let me tell anyone anything. She
refused to believe what the nurses told her in January this year. ...
She spoke to me on the phone, and her main worry was that we were
missing tax amnesties.
Mojo paused for a while, then resumed
speaking, Sorry about that. SL always picks its moments. Even right at
the beginning, on Boxing Day evening when she collapsed, her first words
were, I need to get to the computer so I can give the permissions. She
made her daughter ring me. The last time I spoke to Julie ... she
admitted that it was terminal and she was not having treatment. She told
me she had 6 to 12 months to live. What she forgot to say was that
three months had already passed. She forgot on purpose, to protect me.
When
I started Tiny Empires, there were no kingdoms. Someone bought me a TE
HUD. I loved the game and moved the first time someone bribed me. I had
no idea what I was doing. (laughter) Then Julie lieged me. I moved about
3 or 4 times ... daily ... and she said Hi ... within minutes she had
given me more advice and help than the last 4 lieges had in total. And
she explained to me that she lived about 1 real-life mile away from my
house. That was our bond. She taught me everything as well.
People
think that I knew Julie more than them. Okay, she sometimes confided in
me about Bohemia, and I was her right hand man. But she didnt know me
more than you ... nor did I know her more than you do. She loved each
and every one of us, individually, for our minds, our souls, she loved
all good people and stood for everything good. She never complained. She
was an inspiration. She told me on the phone Bohemians were her
children. Everyone she encountered on SL were close to her heart. But
she was an intelligent woman, and she kept me at arms length because we
met online. She was private, but loved wholeheartedly. Yes, her family
knows how much we all meant to her. And that is why they have invited me
to attend next week.
She cried, and said she didnt want to
abdicate, but that she needed to for the good of the kingdom. Raymond
was chosen by me because he believes in the Bohemia as created by Julie.
And Julie never questioned my decision. She trusted my choice because
she knew I didnt wasn't to ascend as I am not online as often as I would
need to be.
She nearly died at Christmas when she first
collapsed. And a few weeks later, she got an infection which sent her
delirious and put her in the hospital. The nurses were going to let her
go. Her daughter begged for antibiotics. She came home two days later,
and came straight online as she had not been so for a whole week. She
told the room, I have a trapped a nerve in my arm and cant type. Then
she IMed me, and said, I nearly died. They brought me back from the
brink of death. !! I said, and you told the room you have a sore
arm!! Are you insane?! Please tell them. It sounds like you are being
blasé. She said, no, I dont want to worry them. And I dont want
sympathy.
Because she lobed us, and did not want us to feel
pain. Also, she would not want any of us to sit online 24/7 and become
ill. She wants people to see their real-life families, etc., and stop
and smell the roses, and she wants us to remember her for what she stood
for.
With the end of her speech, her fellow mourners spoke one after another, God bless Queen Julie.
Special thanks to Lomgren Smalls for providing the transcript and picture.
* * * * *
On
May 26, 2009 a service was held for Artistic FimiColoud, whom had
passed away from cancer one year before. She was Stephanie Koslow in
real life and was 49. At her memorial at Park Galleries, people gathered
passing one another memorial candles as soft music played in the
background. A few people wore I Relay for Fimi tags.
Artistics friends talked about their late friend, her life online, her
art, about how the little pink fox refused to admit defeat.
Artistics
memorial at Park Galleries remains, at Park (234, 41, 78). Her work can
continue to be viewed there. There is also a landmark to her treehouse
home in Second Life, Sunweaver Air (42,116, 21), which continues to be
maintained and has a number of pictures of her around the place. Most
are various screenshots of her life online, but one there was one
picture of Artistics avatar lying curled on the ground while an
angellike being with a face much like her real-life one rose into the
air. She also has a place in Second Life named after her, Fimi Falls, in
Hope Gardens in the Colorado sim at (189, 44, 25).
Peaceful journey, little warrior.
* * * * *
Lohti Aeon's profile description didn't have much. A few groups, a picture
of his virtual self, a single location. A man of few words, his 1st
life tab simply stated, I'm a 19-year-old soldier who spends his spare
time on his computer, after balancing out school, family crises, work,
and other mumbo-jumbo.
In real life, he was Specialist Jacob D.
Borton of the US Army. Described as a shy video gamer in his high school
years, he joined the Army and was sent to Iraq. He was described as
reserved, but not afraid to come to the aid of someone he felt was being
pushed around, He wouldnt say much unless there was some injustice
being done, and then he would speak up.
Borton met his end not at
the hands of Islamofacist terrorists or their booby traps, but by one
of his own comrades. He was one of the five soldiers killed at the
combat stress clinic at Camp Liberty on May 11, 2009 by a sergeant sent
there whom left the building and returned with a gun. Borton is
described as putting himself between the shooter and another man, trying
to talk the assailant into putting his gun down. He was 20 years old.
It
was this week in which news of Borton's death finally reached his
friends in Second Life. In response, space has been purchased at the
War Memorial Annex in Ileina Cova for a memorial plaque in honor of the fallen soldier whom like the rest of us had a virtual presence here.
Bixyl Shuftan
