Into the City today

Off for a job interview to build puppets.

I'll be lunching at the usual place so I figure I might see some of you there.

I am grateful for opportunities.

RIP Leah Adezio

The person I have been cryptically referring to in my post was Leah Adezio. She passed on peacefully last night surrounded by her family and friends.

I met Leah at the first convention that Peter and I went to as boyfriend and girlfriend which was an I-Con back in the late 1990s. Leah and I believe that we probably had been introduced to each other earlier at other conventions but never could quite nail down where that was so we agreed that we really met at that I-Con. Leah was one of those rare people that when I met her I knew that I had found a friend that I just misplaced somewhere along the way. She and I had a lot of fun at that convention and she made me feel at home and comfortable with my new status as Peter David's girlfriend. Anytime we ran into her either at conventions or Ren Faires we would quickly catch up on news and then just pick up with our friendship.

We ran into her shortly after her husband died which was rather sudden. She was at the Philadelphia Wizard Comic Con. Caroline was just about 6 months at this point if that. Leah took comfort from us and in holding Caroline who loved to be held by Leah. I ended up going out with Ariel to a Chinese restaurant with a bunch of people including Leah and her two boys. I ended up talking about various card systems with the boys including a lively discussion of which was a better system the Magic or 5 Rings system. One of the boys was in the Pokemon tourney that was being held and doing pretty well as I remember. Leah told me the next day that I rated pretty high on her sons' cool meter.

There is a picture which has been used in a number of convention programs including the Dragon*Con program at one point that Leah took. It is Peter dressed up at King Arthur from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, I am dressed up as Patsy with my coconuts, and Caroline is on my back in a backpack so we called her baggage. That was a good day for all of us.

This past Friday we went down to Philadelphia and Peter and I went to see Leah. We were planning to go Saturday to visit with Peter's parents but when Elyane told me what was going on Thursday, Peter and I decided to go down a day early so we could see her. It was a good thing we did. She was conscious and lucid at the time. She was so happy to see us and wanted to catch up on all the news we had. We spent a pleasant time with her, her brother, and one of her best friends. We talked about all kinds of things from movies to TV to the kids to puppetry. She introduced me to her brother and friend as a puppeteer. She loved my Avenue Q shirt. She never got a chance to see the show and she had wanted to very much. It was a mix of happy and sad but it was good to see her. Apparently that was her last really good day. By the time Peter went to see her Sunday, she had drifted into sleep and last night she drifted even further.

I will miss her a lot. She was a bright light that will be missed by many. She was kind and funny. She was a wonderful artist. She was a great fan. She loved the Ren Faires. She loved her family and friends with a passion. And we loved her in return.

Rest in Peace Leah. You are one of the good ones.

I am so grateful that Leah was part of my life.