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| Euphorbia Plant w/Crescent moons |
I spoke at her Memorial in Los Angeles as she was laid to rest in her hometown in New York. I had never spoken at anyone’s Memorial before this but I overcame whatever fear I had of speaking in public because I wanted others to know what she meant to me. Having written about this one friend who passed on at the age of 36, it reminded me of another friend that passed on some years later in 2003 but also at the age of 36. Though I was not asked to do so, I found myself writing down a tribute to Lisa in the event her family would ask if anyone wanted to share. I never got the opportunity but now I would like to share what I wrote down about her as I re-visit it now.
July 11, 2003
Lisa was one of the first people I met and befriended when I first moved to Los Angeles from NYC 13 years ago. I remember it was at an industry networking function and from the moment we met, we hit it off. Lisa and I had things in common, in particular, our sense that one didn’t have to exclusively befriend only those in our immediate age range. For us, there were 13 years between us. It didn’t hurt that Lisa was mature for her age and I marveled at how much she accomplished and experienced in so short a time. Lisa was such an easy person to talk to and talk we did. We spent many an hour on the phone just chatting away. I will surely miss our long conversations. Some of those in the last 2 years surrounded her entering the world of lawsuits as she had 3 going on at the same time. She got a crash course in lawsuits. I joked with her that she had gotten so knowledgeable she could go into law. She paid me a compliment when she told me that when she first contemplated the whole lawsuit thing, she thought of me. Don’t get me wrong. I never sued anybody nor been sued, but for some reason when she first entertained the idea of pursuing a lawsuit on principal, I popped into her head. She asked herself the question, what would Lynne do? For some reason this helped give her the motivation to jump in and take charge. She relentlessly hung in there for the 2 years and went to deposition after deposition. In the end she won and got great satisfaction that she had prevailed. Lisa also got a crash course in health insurance. Anyone who has had the experience of dealing with insurance companies and health providers will tell you it can be frustrating to no end. Lisa became so knowledgeable in that area, I again told her that she could go into that business. When I experienced the frustration first hand of the nonsense health insurance companies put you through, Lisa was the first person I called for help. She was wonderful. She even went as far as offering to be me on the phone and calling up my insurance company to get some answers when I couldn’t.
We became much closer in this last year, discussing things she chose to share with very few, if at all. It’s so hard to say goodbye to a good friend. I am thankful that I have many memories of a happy and smiling Lisa who will remain in my memory forever. Lisa, if you’re up there in spirit looking down on all this, know that you are loved by so many people who have come here today to remember and pay tribute to your zest for life and the goodness you spread around so naturally.
Three days after I wrote this tribute, I attended Lisa’s funeral in Los Angeles. When I got home later that day something strange happened. A thank you card I had received from her, less than a year earlier, that had been placed, along a string, to hold it up with a bunch of other cards from her and others I had saved, went flying as the string came down from where it was attached at 2 ends. This had never happened before to the string. I had used it for years as a way to hang cards in my room. Call me crazy but I took this as a sign from Lisa that she had gotten the message I had called on the day she died. I was hoping for one last talk.
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