On my long drive home from Portland on Wednesday I got some bad news... One of my first and finest friends in the Bay Area had passed away. Full body goose bumbs at 75mph relayed to my head that my heart was writhing. In turns, I called friends to share the awful news, I strained to see the flashing yellow lines through the tears. Prolly shoulda pulled off the road but something let me know that wind in my hair was good medicine for me right then.

Leighann Hussey, AKA Mistress Siobhán ní hEodhusa (Siobhan the Fiddler) first grabbed my attention in about 1993. She roared up to Zeitgeist on her 1100cc Virago, proceeded to scandalize me with her attention; flirting like a pro. Boy she launched us in a great direction. After a few beers, she decided to have me (a brand new friend) pilot her motorcycle (a mighty and noble steed) with her (a woman of excellent and significant physical presence) on the back to our friend Choke's house in the Haight, where I was staying... Her confidence in me then inspires me still today. Entirely intoxicating... when we hopped off her bike, 19 year old me was at a bit of a quandry... shy and polite I searched my head for the right thing to say. Before I even had a chance to stammer, she grabbed me with strong arms and pulled me in hard, kissed me deep, taught me about pirates in a moment... in a moment, with a wink, she was back on her bike, sober as a priest, roaring down the street.

My knees still remember.

In the interveneing years she continued to amaze me. We found ourselves in the same shadowy organization of iconoclast/bikerscum/narcissists. (Prez Orca!) Her wit and wile with a fiddle, rocking out HARD with Annwn. (I swoon for the Black Queen!) Her slightly more subtle musical chops had her named First Bard of the West in the Society for Creative Anacronism, a global medieval/renaissance arts re-creation group. (Mistress Siobhán ní hEodhusa, laureled, lauded, loved deeply!) She leaves behind a raft of friends, loves, fans and admirers, and if ever there was a hater, I've never known.

May her joy and enthusiasm be martyred in this untimely end. May we all remember to dance hard, sing loud, love fiercely. The majestic tapestries we weave with our breath, our words, our actions, our days and nights, and our relationships can all come to a close with so little warning... our role in this drama isn't tenured. I will strive to add texture and delight to the lives of those around me, as Leighann Hussey added to mine.

Fine, then... to pure energy with her. The world is the richer for her myriad contributions. Thank you, dear Leighann.