38 Cranes: A Memorial

 

 

In memory of
Marianne Dolores Sanchez
9/13/62-5/24/01

 

There are 38 cranes, each representing a year of M’s life.  Each crane is inscribed inside with a quote relevant to my memory of M.  In the center of the mobile, there are 2 identical rokoan-style cranes, called the Saotome, which symbolize our support of each other.  The other double crane in the center is called Kakitsubata and represents M and her daughter, Teddi.  The Yatsuhashi circle of eight cranes on the top represent the Circle of Life, unending love, and the like.

Crane Quotes

Yatsuhashi–Eight Bridges

And, when he shall die
Take him and cut him out in little stars
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
–William Shakespeare

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name.  Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, for ever and ever.  Amen

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal,
Love leaves a memory no one can steal.
–headstone in Ireland

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.
–Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge–myth is more potent than history–dreams are more powerful than facts–hope always triumphs over experience–laughter is the cure for grief–love is stronger than death.
–Robert Fulghum

Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve.  And I am not resigned.
–Edna St. Vincent Millay

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no Evil: For Thou art with me;
Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
–23rd Psalm

Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our loved ones pours through and shines down up on us to let us know they are happy.
–Eskimo proverb

Saotome #1–Girl Planting Rice–M supports T supports M

Small crane:
The death of a friend is equivalent to the loss of a limb.
–German proverb

Large crane:
Love is patient, love is kind,
It does not envy, it does not boast.
It is not proud, it is not rude
It is not self-seeking,
It is not easily angered,
It keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil,
But rejoices in the truth.
Love always protects, always trusts,
Always hopes, always perseveres.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
Hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends.
Love never fails.
–Corinthians 13:4-8

Saotome #2–Girl Planting Rice–M supports T supports M

Small crane:
If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bullshit.

Large crane:
Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
—
Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears releved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.
—
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
And Grace will Lead me Home.
—
When we’ve been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun.
—
Amazing Grace, who sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
–John Newton (1725-1807) (my favorite song)

Kakitsubata–The Iris Flower–Marianne holds Teddi

Baby crane:
All you need is trust and a little bit of pixie dust.
–Peter Pan (she believed in fairies, and encouraged her daughter’s belief in wonderful ways)

Mama crane:
Hello babies.  Welcome to Earth.  It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter.  It’s round and wet and crowded.  At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here.  There’s only one rule that I know of, babies–“God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.”
–Kurt Vonnegut in God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (Kurt Vonnegut was among her favorite authors.  We discovered him together with Breakfast of Champions, but she came to  love his works more than I.  God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater was her favorite.)

Single Cranes

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends–
It gives a lovely light.
–Edna St. Vincent Millay

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.
–Colette

I am bound on a journey without end.
–Sun Yun-Feng

I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.
–Mark Twain

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to min’?
–Robert Burns

Photographs show the laughs recorded in between the bad times
Happy sailors dancin’ on a sinking ship.
–John Prine (We loved John Prine)

I am ready to meet my Maker.  Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
–Winston Churchill

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings.”
–Lewis Carroll

I can have oodles of charm when I want to.
–Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions

The chief mourner does not always attend the funeral.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson (I included this in the first mobile I attempted to console myself about missing her funeral)

I am too rare a pattern.
–Amy Lowell

I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over.  Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.
–Kurt Vonnegut (Oh, this was M!)

Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me)
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot,
Drink up, me ‘hearties, yo ho.
We kidnap and ravage and don’t give a hoot,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
—
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We extort, we pilfer, we filch, and sack,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
Maraud and embezzle, and even high-jack,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
—
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.
We kindle and char, inflame and ignite,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
We burn up the city, we’re really a fright,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
—
We’re rascals, scoundrels, villains, and knaves,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
We’re devils and black sheep, really bad eggs,
Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.
–Xavier Atencio (When she died, she was reading about woman pirates every chance she got)

Pirates have always fascinated me.
–Tanith Lee

1492.  As children we were taught to memorize this year with pride and joy as the year people began living full and imaginative lives on the continent of North America.  Actually, people had been living full and imaginative lives for hundreds of years before that.  1492 was simply the year sea pirates began to rob, cheat, and kill them.
–Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions

Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.
–Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

I stayed up all night playing poker with tarot cards.  I got a full house and four people died.
–Stephen Wright (Stephen Wright.  Too funny.  And the tarot?  So M.  She believed in psychic phenomena, was a big Sylvia Browne fan.  I once thought I was visited by her ghost, in the way of What Dreams May Come.  chilling)

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.  Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.
–Groucho Marx (She loved Groucho Marx.  And books.  And silly humor.)

Reminds me of my safari in Africa.  Somebody forgot the corkscrew, and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water.
–W. C. Fields (So, we liked to drink in our youth.)

Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion.  I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.
–Kurt Vonnegut (Did she ever love to laugh!)

Grandmother’s Song
Be courteous, kind and forgiving,
Be gentle and peaceful each day.
Be warm and human and grateful,
And have a good thing to say.
—
Be thoughtful and trustful and childlike,
Be witty and happy and wise,
Be honest and love all your neighbors,
Be obsequious, purple and clairvoyant.
—
Be pompous, obese, and eat cactus,
Be dull, and boring, and omnipresent,
Criticize things you don’t know about,
Be oblong and have your knees removed.
—
Be tasteless, rude and offensive,
Live in a swam and be three-dimensional,
Put a live chicken in your underwear,
Get all excited and go to a yawning festival.
  (or, Go in to a closet and suck eggs.)
–Steve Martin (We would listen to Steve Martin albums for hours.  I liked him more than her.  But still, the memories…Try and get a touchdown, you scumbags!)

I went down the street to the 24-hour grocery.  When I got there, the guy was locking the front door.  I said, “Hey, the sign says you’re open 24 hours.”  He said, “Yes, but not in a row.”
–Stephen Wright

Just living is not enough.  One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.
–Hans Christian Andersen

It appears I shall never travel farther than my own footsteps.
Qernetoq (I have no idea how I got this quote.  A very quick search turned up nothing, though I seem to remember finding this quote on more than one quote site when I made the first mobile.  Interesting mystery…)

Wishing Stars

Marianne–I wish you were still here–You had cat class and cat style. 🙂  Ter

Spent most of my youth out hobo cruising.  And all I’ve got for proof is rocks in my pockets and dirt in my shoes.  Ten times what it grieves you–that’s how much more I hate to leave you. ::: I wish for these days with you.

You know what?  I miss you, my steadfast friend.

The missing you will never end.  My wish is to look at this mobile and smile, remembering the laughs.  Terri McGinty 9/24/07

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