All about Sarah

Without You- Rent- Jonathan Larson

Sarah's family — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 01:41:00 GMT

Through life we all deal with loss, some more gently than others. But I have never met anyone who is not pained by the fact that while life has stopped for them, it seems duly unfair that life has not stopped for everyone else. With that, these lyrics from Jonathan Larson seem most appropriate.

Without You, the ground thaws, the rain falls, the grass grows
Without You, the seeds root, the flowers bloom, the children play
the stars gleam, the poets dream, the eagles fly

Without You, the earth turns, the sun burns, 
But I Die
Without You

Without You, the breeze warms, the girl smiles, the cloud moves, 
Without You, the tides change
the boys run, the oceans crash
the crowds roar
the days soar
the babies cry
Without You

the moon glows, the river flows
But I Die Without You

The world revives, colors renew

But I know blue, only blue, lonely blue
within me, blue

Without You
Without You
the hand gropes
the ear hears
the pulse beats

Without You
the eyes gaze
the legs walk
the lungs breathe

the mind churns
the heart yearns
the tears dry
Without You

Life Goes On
But I'm Gone
Cause I Die

Without You

Molting

Sarah's family — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 23:36:00 GMT

Molting

Cats must spend a great deal of time caring for their coat, since their lives depend on it. Preening and bathing and other fur care operations, however, cannot prevent the coat from wearing out. Because a cat’s fur is lifeless, incapable of being repaired, worn fur must be replaced. This process of replacement is termed molting.

This is particularly true in purebred long hair animals. The old, worn coat is loosened in the follicles (sockets) by the growth of new intruding fur, which eventually push them out. Molting occurs in regular patterns over a long haired cat’s body. The adaptiveness of such patterns can be illustrated by the Spotted Persian, which retain key tufts of fur used for sensory detection until other fur is replaced. The majority of adult long hair purebred cats molt once or twice a year, and the temporal pattern, not unexpectedly, is related to the wear rate on the fur. This is especially evident in older eastern European breeds.

Molting is timed to meet various needs. For example, in temperate-zone cats require more insulation in the winter than in the summer. The number is changed in the process of molting; winter growth may contain more than half again as much fur as in the summer. Since the coat, which carry the colors of the animal, are "dead," a cat cannot totally change its colors without changing its coat (although its appearance can change substantially just from wear). Therefore a male cat usually molts prior to the breeding season. Molting takes from 5 to 12 weeks, but some may require two years or more to completely replace their coat.

Some cats, such as Siamese and Himalayan, are "synchronous molters" -- they change their coat all at once in a period as short as two weeks, but sometimes stretching over a month.

APRIL FOOLS
Sarah would have loved this. I can hear her laughing now.

My blog is only for my friends and other misconceptions

Sarah's family — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 13:57:00 GMT

I am a compulsive searchaholic. I don't just search google, but also dogpile, yahoo, msn, blog sites, library sites, google world keyhole entries and open databases. It isn't just a passing phase. Whether it is trying to figure out the markings on an old piece of china or the house value of property in Maui, I am drawn to the unending information found through the world wide web.

One of my compulsive searches is Sarah's name. Some times I add Westerville and other times science olympiad. The way results compile fascinates me. The results which compile fascinate me too. It was through searches on Sarah's name and then searches on other names that led me to world of high school blogging.

Recently, blogging has been in the news. Although students think that only their friends are reading their blog, or at the worst other kids their own age, stories in the news prove otherwise. Just this week, in USA Today, was the story of a senior not admitted to Reed, his college of choice, after admissions counselors read his blog. People are not getting jobs because of what they have published on blogs. Friendships are lost. But worse is the fact that pedophiles lurk on blog sites. This makes my skin crawl. And whether you want to hear it or not, they do; and people whom you least expect to be reading blogs, read them; this includes teachers. Students are under the misconception that adults in their lives will never see the sites. Guess what. I am an adult and I have. Not only that, I know who you are. You have either posted your picture or enough of your name or activities to figure out who you are. Some of you have even posted your phone numbers.

I know of at least two Westerville girls who have described lesbian desires and experiences on their blogs. And guess what girls, not only do I know who you are, but who your parents are. But you are lucky. Unless someone blatently has written something I consider dangerous, like your full name or phone number, your secret is safe with me. But I am not your average adult reader; I keep things private. Sooner or later, however; the information you post on blogs will come back to bite you.

There is value in writing. Teen age years are filled with angst that sometimes bleeds best on paper. When you bleed publicly, however, know that your fears, concerns and experiences are there for everyone to read. And whether you are the girl who says you live in London, but active in Westerville and Central Ohio activities or the college freshman who wrote about skipping class after class living in your boyfriend's room, someone who you don't want reading your blog will read it.

Last night, I found one sophomore's xanga site, because she mentioned Sarah's name, in whole. Will I tell her mother she has a blog, of course not. But did I call her to clear up a misconception about Sarah's death? Absolutely. Writing is healthy. Teen age angst is an inevitable part of growing up. Wanting the boy, wanting the A, complaining about parents, wanting to figure out life.. etc. Just remember, that writing something in the quiet safety of your bedroom can be explosive if in the wrong hands.

Be careful.

Wallace and Gromit

Sarah's family — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 01:48:00 GMT

I went out on a limb and bought Wallace and Gromit and the Were Rabbit. I know it is a G movie, but it got great reviews and any movie with a rabbit in it just seemed to call out, "add me to your collection!"

If Sarah were alive, I know that she would have wanted to buy it, so it duely belongs in our collection. ( We still have copy of the book Bunnicula somewhere, proving that Sarah's bunnies did not have to be cuddly and cute, just the ability to wiggle their noses and hop.

For those who have seen the movie and knew Sarah, tell me if you agree with this analysis. She would have adored three particular parts to the movie: the rabbits being sucked through their bunny holes, whirling around in Wallace's contraption and the bunnies howling at the moon. Can't you just imagine her now, walking the halls of Westerville North howling at the imaginary moon?

But the question then presents, would Sarah at nearly 18 hold the same enthusiasm about a G rated bunny movie as when she was 16? We will never know. In our hearts and memories, Sarah will always be 16.

She would have adored Wallace & Gromit and the Were Rabbit. Arrrrroooooooooooooooo.

Happy New Year

Sarah's family — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 17:56:46 GMT

It’s the last night of Chanukah; the candles are burning. Sarah loved lighting candles more than anything. She would get up first thing in the morning and fill the menorahs with candles. Now she has missed another Chanukah.

It is January 1. She also missed all of 2005.

Even though family traditions now carry certain emptiness, we continue with them, some exactly the way we have always carried them through, and some in new ways.

You can’t climb the mountain, if you don’t stay on the trail. So we continue to climb.

For 2006, we wish smooth trails for all of our friends with steep climbs ahead.

Holiday Wishes

Sarah's family — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 14:57:00 GMT

A year ago right now, we were escaping our reality on the beaches of Maui. Specifically, we were snorkeling at Molikini, swimming among fish and laughing at the fact that Sarah would have hated that. But she would have loved being in Hawaii. It was a place she always wanted to go, and we regret now that she never got there. It seemed strange being there without her.

But there are so many places and times that seem strange and empty without Sarah. Sarah loved Chanukah. Going into Chanukah last year, we knew that the eight nights were going to be extraordinarily difficult, so we needed to include her in a meaningful way. Every night of Chanukah, everyone who shared lighting candles with us put a dollar into a pushke. At the end of Chanukah, we donated the money to Children's Hospital.

This year, we will be giving the money to one of Sarah's causes: The Make a Wish Foundation. Sarah was introduced to Make a Wish through Builder's Club in middle school. I don't remember the specific things that led up to it, but Sarah became impassioned with the organization. She raised money through school and gave to them enthusiastically even after the memories of their projects faded.

I expect that her passion came from the fact she understood the cause. She wanted their terminally ill children to experience the things she would have an entire life to experience. Now it seems ironic that she never got her wish, seeing the Hawaiian volcanoes.

Make a Wish seemed like the perfect cause to remember and include Sarah in Chanukah this year. Consider a donation as a tribute to your friend.

May your lives be filled with light and may all your wishes come true.

Click below to go to Make a Wish
Make A Wish

The Holiday Concert- WNHS

Sarah's family — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 18:06:00 GMT

It was good seeing so many of you at the "Holiday" concert. I know this may sound strange, especially since I really didn't know some of you before Sarah died, but seeing you is a real gift. Seeing you lets us "graduate" from the fall of her junior year, seeing you reassures us that reluctantly life does go on.

There were a few things that made last night easier. One was the fact that Anna was part of this concert. Although she was hard to see, we knew she was there. Listening to the orchestra is never easy, but they were quite good, so it was easy to see Sarah's love of this group. She would have been proud to have played with you. Listening though, I thought how she would have complained about all the Christmas music. In my mind, I could see her practicing and complaining all at once!

The other thing that made it easier was the fact that we were sitting next to Mandy. Sarah wasn't the only one who "should have" been up on that stage. It helped me detach from the current orchestra. I know it will seem strange next year, as some of my other favorite friends are missing from that stage, also. If you happen to come home from school, or whereever you end up, make sure to scout us out in the audience. You are an important part of our lives and we want to hear where life is taking you.