they come in threes...

...As I said.

I found out today that one of my dear friends from high school, Erin Heischober, passed away on Monday. She was 29 years old. I met Erin in 1994 and we were instantly friends. I had also been best friends with her cousin Mali in 1989. They both attended my birthday party in 1996. Their grandfather, Harold Heischober, had been Mayor of Virginia Beach 1984-1986 and King Neptune of the 1991 Neptune Festival. I remember how sad I was for both of them when he passed away in 2002.

The Erin I knew in high school was fun but not wild, smart but not overly studious, active but not overwhelming, likable but not "popular". She did not strive to be anything other than she was, and I quietly admired that about her while trying myself to stand out. We were fairly close, as high school theatre kids tend to be; she was one of a group of 6 friends who called each other our "wives". We fell out of touch after she graduated in 1997, but found each other again through Myspace.com and mutual friends in 2005. I had dinner with her at No Frills Grill in Ghent one night in July 2006. It was the last time I saw her.

I found out through a mutual friend earlier this year (or was it even last year?) that she was sick but didn't want everyone to know, and I wanted to respect her privacy. I wish now that I had contacted her. My heart goes out to her family, particularly to her immediate family and to my old friend Mali, in this time of grief. May it comfort them to know that such a kind and sweet soul will be missed by everyone she touched.

Rest

O Earth lie heavily upon her eyes;
Seal her sweet eyes weary of watching, Earth.
Lie close around her, leave no room for mirth
With its harsh laughter, nor for sound of sighs.
She hath no questions, she hath no replies,
Hushed in and curtained with a blessed dearth
Of all that irked her from her hour of birth;
With stillness that is almost Paradise.
Darkness more clear than noon-day holdeth her,
Silence more musical than any song;
Even her very heart hath ceased to stir;
Until the morning of Eternity
Her rest shall not begin nor end, but be,
And when she wakes she will not think it long.

- Christina Rossetti

The above poem is one I return to time and time again to console myself when faced with the death of a loved one. I first encountered it in Schola Cantorum at the University of Richmond set to music by Ralph Vaughn Williams and have been looking for a recording of it for some time. I found one today, after I posted this blog, released in January by the Kings Singers. As track 16 of their new greatest hits album, it is available on CD and for download on iTunes (query: Vaughn Williams rest) or Amazon.com.