Photos from Roxanne's life

Gallery of photos

A version of Suzanne's letter to Roxanne about their big adventure

8-22-08

ROXANNE BRUNS…an incredible human being.

My friend, buddy, partner in crime, mentor, best listener in the world.

Hello Roxanne –

Gosh, where does this start…..you have been in my life for such a LONG time. We went to the same Christian Science church, so we have a similar metaphysic background. I remember one winter day in Boston, shopping for fabric and I noticed this striking tall beautiful blonde woman next to me….I stole a glance and said…..hello Roxanne. Do you remember??? My Mother had told me you were living in Boston also, but we never hooked up. The meeting in the fabric store must have been fate.

I remember taking the train up to the singing beach, remember??? That where the sand made noise when you walked on it??? Soon after we decided we both wanted to go to school, but couldn’t afford the eastern universities, and had heard that colleges were free in California. So we packed up all our earthly belongings in your red volkswagon, I think we each had $150 in our pockets and we set sail.

I drove to Toledo with some people I had met at the Harvard Graduate School of Government and you had to pick me up in Indiana, …..I left my kitty with you in Boston and you took care of her and brought my little kitty Sasha with you. Remember that damn cat???? Wouldn’t take a pee or poop anywhere but on my lap in your car!!!..

The adventure began at my house by the river…..me with my shaved head because I thought I would look at good as Nina Simone in the Patty La Belle group, but discovered that I looked like an escaped mental patient instead. Luckily bandanas were in style then. Think I wore one for 8 months. You looking absolutely wonderful as usual, tall blond, piercing green eyes, leggy and do I mean Leggy!!!! How tall are you woman….5’10” – 5’11” – doesn’t matter…you always wore those clogs that made you 3 inches taller!!!!

Our adventure was going along well until…..we stopped at your friend Cheryl’s house in Pueblo, Co only to discover we needed to rebuild the little Volkswagen engine. So we both set out to get jobs. Me at a collection agency where I met the cowgirl I went shooting pistols with in the desert and the other girl with two nipples on one boob who gave her kids shots to go to sleep. You, got the wonderful job at the Bloody Bucket. There you are, tall blonde beautiful, with 3 in. heels, in a little burgundy maid’s costume waiting on tables. Hilarious!!! Hell, your crotch was at eye level when you walked up to the tables and snarled out a, “what can I get for you” Didn’t they tell you you had to improve your attitude or they’d fire you???? LOL…..so freakin funny. I think we split town before you had to change your personality.

Car fixed….time to head to my sister’s in Irvine, Ca……spent the night in some strange little motel where we met the magician….he did a magic act for us with white doves. Remember? No, I think this is one you don’t remember. Well, I’m sure you remember our “day trip to Mexico”. Quick drive down, look at the shabby mess, turn around….don’t think we even got out of the car, and there is was…..the Border guard…..”Girls…..what you doing in Mexico?”…..me….”just checking it out”. Guard to me, “let me see your purse”. Well, wouldn’t you know it!!! I had one of those freaking long glass pipes with the curve in the middle so you could watch the smoke. Really, quite fun….but he didn’t seem to like it. You, didn’t seem too happy either…..so we were instructed to “pull over to the side”. They herded us into the station, upon which, they dug through the ashtray, dang….forgot that stuff was in there too!!!! You were a little mad at me until they brought in your “dead plant” from the back of the volkswagon!!! Remember that!!!! What a bunch of airheads we were!!!! OH and when he started wiping dust off of your check book….upon which you snarled…..It’s American Dust!!!! LOL…..they should make a movie of this…..

Guess they didn’t like that as then we had to give them all our money, which I think was $300 and YOU had to write some essay and promise never to return to Tijuana…..well, I’ve kept my promise.

(END NOT INCLUDED IN THIS VERSION)

Suzanne Wheeler
(with her permission)

Suzanne's hummingbird painting

In the program for Roxanne's memorial, I published a note from Suzanne which made reference to this painting. We had it at the memorial and passed it around. In the note, Suzanne wrote: "...She passed through the veil. She has sailed around the horizon, out of our sight, but into the sight of others. I truly believe that we will see her again...

I was blessed to have known her....she always encouraged me to paint. It was a dream of mine, but I never had time until my husband died and my daughter left home. The attached is the third painting I've done [the hummingbird]. I thought of Roxanne the whole time I did it. My teacher said...do you know that upraised wings is the sign of resurrection?"

Photos of the event

Photographer - Frank C.
Link to photos here.

Oakland Sunset

This panoramic photo of Oakland at sunset reminds me of the wonderful vista from Kimberly's dining room, as people gathered together (around 5:30...this photo probably taken a bit later); the weather was so perfect for the day -- unbelievable!

- Emily

Birth and Death, by Richard Henry Lee

This poem was shared by George Strong, of Fern Lodge, at the celebration of life for Roxanne, and several people expressed a desire to have a copy. See comment for poem.

Roxanne Celebration of Life - Program p. 1

A couple of days before the memorial event for Roxanne, I started compiling passages from Roxanne's writings. I felt she wouldn't mind sharing these if she was alive. I included a song, a poem, a letter from a school days friend, and some images. There are 8 pages in all. In the cover image, which is cropped from Chris' original, she is looking down at a gorgeous husky (picture appears elsewhere in this blog); I saw her sweetness and love in this shot (taken by a friend), so that's why I included it on the cover. There are so many people to thank, who helped put on this celebration, and all spoken contributions were very welcome. I wish we could have included everyone.

The food was provided by Phil Gelb ("In the mood for food", musician/vegan chef/caterer, who contributed some wonderful creative and light dishes, including a raw beet pate (beets ground up with various nuts and seeds and daikon), a pilaf of two kinds of quinoa, a black bean chili and a blood orange/fennel salad. A meal worthy of Roxanne who had a very refined palate! It's all for you, Roxanne... It has been a way of closure for me, to work on this compilation. As we printed only limited numbers of this program, I wanted a way to share it.