Max: 1992-2007

We lost Max today.



Billy adopted him when he was about 16 in NYC. I met Max at St. John's College, when he came to live with Billy just after we met. When we were graduated, we moved to 426 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, between Nevins and Bond:








Our friend, Camille, stayed with us for awhile. She loved him well:






Many good times.




Then we moved to Windsor Terrace, near Prospect Park (17th Street and 11th Avenue). Max could play with other dogs in the Nethermead.


Everyone loved Max.


He went with Billy to Maine, to hang out with him while he studied for the bar exam:



Then we moved to New Orleans. We lived on Kerlerec between St. Claude and Marais. We were married there, after being together for seven years. Max was there.

On the levee, where everybody takes the pooches:


At the Treme house:



The day that we moved into the Treme house from Brooklyn (tired):


Halloween at the Treme house:


Evacuation, Hurricame Katrina:
Christmas 2005:

Carondelet, between Clio and Erato, the first house we ever owned:




After awhile, Max's cataracts became so awful that a dog who usually always knew where the camera was fled from the flash....

...and so daylight pictures were the way to go from then on.


Thanksgiving walk, 2005

We just bought our step-up house, where we will start a family, on friday. We wish he could have moved with us.
We really loved him. Goodbye Max.
I miss him.

Helen Hill Memorial Tree Sculpture

This is a rough sketch of the Helen Memorial Tree. I know that it's been a long time coming, but I have lost 2 friends and a dog this past month so I have been too sad and tired out to post.

Louise, Helen's cousin, has offered to be the person to whom all leaves will be sent. Here's her info:

"My address is

Louise Washer
280 Silvermine Ave.
Norwalk
CT 06850

email: lwmcf@optonline.net.

"Also, if people want to send straight to my mom in NOLA:

Teddy Hill
921 Dauphine St.
NO, LA 70116

Her email is teddyhill1@earthlink.net "

Donald Tully is the person who has volunteered to weld the structure, and I really think that it will be great. We will be meeting to cement details soon.

Lots of people have contacted me, excited to participate by creating a leaf.

I will post every so often as the project progresses to show the stages of development and so people will know the deadlines for submission and.

Neal Walker's Harmonica

Neal's fiancée and nephew were kind enough to let me borrow Neal's harmonica last night so that I could draw it.

Official News About Memorial's for Neal

The memorial in New Orleans has been relocated.

Family, friends and colleagues are invited to the Memorial Service for R. Neal Walker, to be held at: Venusian Gardens, 2601 Chartres Street (cnr Chartres & Franklin) New Orleans La.on Saturday, February 3, 2007 at 3:30pm with an Open House to follow at Neal’s home, just around the corner. All are welcome.In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, www.thejusticecenter.org/lcac/donations. Donations will be applied to the LCAC Client Welfare Fund to improve the lives of those Neal worked to save.


To all of Neal's friends
From: Anna, Neal's fiance.

Neal was a beautiful, intelligent, loving man. I loved him with my whole heart. Our hearts are broken.

I find it difficult to put words to our loss. Please keep us in your thoughts.

There will be two memorial celebrations.

New Orleans:
Date: February 3rd (now post-memorial gathering)
Time:4:30PM
Place: 2616 Royal Street
Corner of Franklin

Lexington KY:
Date: February 10th
Time: 3:30PM
Place: 612 Central Avenue
Near corner of Old Park and Central

Please pass this on. Thank you.

Anna amaanna@gmail.com

Jazz Funeral for Helen

Kittee sent this along for all to see:

Hey, ya'll! We're gonna do Helen up right with a big old jazz funeral in New Orleans. Can you believe it?

The procession starts at Paul and Helen's old place at 3438 Cleveland St. on Saturday, February 24. The procession forms at 12:30 p.m. and rolls at 1:00 p.m. sharp.

We're planning on two brass bands, a vegan cupcake wagon parade, and, of course, Ernie K-Doe's hearse. We'll head up Angela Davis Parkway, then toward the river on Orleans Ave., then up N. Claiborne Ave. We'll disband at the Mother-in-Law Lounge, 1500 N. Claiborne Ave., where we'll unwrap the cupcakes for an official tea party as well as shang-a-lang-a to some really cool tunes. So come on out -- we'll remember Helen and help try to put ourselves and our crazy city back together again.

For more info about the jazz funeral, email dazee at dkoen_2000 [at] yahoo [dot] com. For more info about joining the vegan cupcake brigade, email kittee at kittee68 [at] yahoo [dot] com. Helen, we love and miss you, baby.

Neal Walker, Rest in Peace

This is a picture that Billy and I always have up in our house. Neal's on the harmonica.

Photo by Ana Arien

So Sad

I am very sad. We lost another friend in an accident last night.

A Letter From Paul to Everyone

See Helen Hill's memorial website for the letter.

David Koen talks about Helen on NPR

Listen or read here. You should really listen.

Many, Many Photos from the New Orleans Enough! March

Miranda Lake was kind enough to take photos for me to post here. I was still en route from the funeral and recovering from a mean chest cold that rendered me voiceless. Thank you Miranda.

Many people complained about the racial make-up of the crowd. I just want to point out that it is pretty difficult to come out for a march that was planned quickly and takes place at 11 a.m. during a work day. When I taught in public schools, it was a good parent-teacher conference turn out if five families came in. Most people work -sometimes two or three jobs. I can't imagine you can tell your boss that you'll be leaving work for a demonstration.


David Koen and Kittee bee-lined it from So. Carolina, beginning the drive at around 5 p.m. on Wednesday and managing to get to the march in time. Here's David, below, wearing a strip of cloth that Kittee tied on his arm from the material she used to make her Helen vegan cupcake banner:



Francine, thank you for leaving this sign for us at our door. It was good to come home to:

People marched by neighborhood. Mine is Central City, which according to many accounts, received a hero's welcome when they arrived at City Hall. Central City was the first neighborhood to be super plagued with murders after the storm. The so-called "Triangle of Death" is within the bounds of this very large neighborhood.

Central City:

From a March 21, 2006 Nolanik post:


Central City at the march, continued...






Bywater, one neighborhood downriver from Marigny:




Gentilly:



The Irish Channel:


Read these signs:

Ruthie Monday XXXIV

Well, It's time to get some normalcy going on up in here. So I will resume Ms. Norma's Ruthie Mondays.

She posed for about 2 seconds in this ribbon on Christmas day...

Fun Short Film Projects by Helen and Paul

For the past few years, Helen made a wee film for Halloween to be posted at the Gothtober website. Paul sang nice songs for these. They are useful for cheering yourself up!

Check them out by clicking these links and then clicking on October 9th:

Gothtoberfest 2005

Gothtoberfest 2006


Click the 2nd for

Gothtoberfest 2004

and

Gothtoberfest 2003

I think you'll like them.

Helen Hills' Funeral, and Kittee's Vegan "Helen Cupcakes"

Click on photo for larger image

This is the cover of Helen's Funeral Program. The illustration is from one of her movies -the one about her grandfather's funeral, which took place in the same church.

Kittee was a close, dear friend of Helen's, she was a pall-bearer for her. We went to the church early so that Kittee could put out a special vegan Helen Cupcake banner for everyone to see and taste:

On the way to the church

Waiting to get into the church...

The process...

Helen would have thought that was so pretty, Kittee. ..and yummy.