I visited a friend at Hospice of the Panhandle—the second friend admitted there in just four weeks. I wrote about my first visit in my post “Bilbo Baggins’s Blessing.” That friend died the next day.
And as with that friend, I left this friend with this farewell: Wherever you fare, may you fare well. She died an hour later.
Just three days before, I had seen her at home. She sat on the edge of her bed. We talked for nearly two hours. She was frail, fragile, and failing but still a bit feisty.
She told me of growing up in Hollywood, naively marrying a sketchy West Virginian, reluctantly adopting a sweet Doberman pinscher, moving to West Virginia (with both!), working while attending college, tending to a vexatious husband, moving out and on, getting a master’s degree, working one job after another, finding true romance, writing poems, writing columns, loving flowers, loving friends, loving life, and then suddenly—cancer.
There was no cure. Only care.
Medical care was inconstant. But the care from her best friend (and husband of 35 years) was not. He was by her side every step of the way.
We sat together by her bed at hospice. She slept and could not be roused. But I knew she could hear.
Just before I left her house three days before, out of the blue she told me that the story of creation in Genesis was her favorite passage in the Bible. Mine too. She was the first one I ever heard say so.
I can recite Psalm 23 and the Lord’s Prayer. I cannot recite Genesis 1 verbatim. So I opened my Bible and read it to her slowly.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void. Darkness was upon the face of the deep. And God said, Let there be light and there was light.
Not overnight, but ever so gradually, life arose and flourished on planet earth. My friend loved this wild and wonderful planet, especially its bugs.
All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.
The story is a myth.
But any way you look at it, the earth is a precious gift.
My friend was known as—and shall always be known as—“The Bug Lady.”
A beautiful tribute. I never knew Claire personally–wish I had. I knew her through her writing. Her column was always the first thing I turned to in The Good Newspaper. You always knew when you engaged with her short, incisive, humorous bug portraits that here was a spirited presence that saw things others didn’t. She lifted up the lowly, took the airborne in her hand, and gave us a glimpse into the magic of all living things.
A beautiful tribute to a wonderful writer. Thanks.
‘‘Tis not the whole of life to live, nor all of death to die”. And to quote C.S. Lewis (with whom I often disagree), “[e]very myth becomes the father of innumerable truths on the abstract level.” I am sorry about your friend, and I’m sorry I never knew her. She sounds wonderful.
Claire was a character. She was a fine writer. And she cared about everything. Rest in peace.
Long live The Bug Lady. Not soon forgotten.
Thank you Randy. I turn off all yard, porch or outside lights during lightning bug season because of The Bug Lady. She said lightning bugs depend on darkness to find their mate; they recognize their light. Her Bug Lady columns for the Journal would make a wonderful book.
A gentle soul. I’m sure when she passed, all her insect friends were calling her in their beautiful, individual voices.
💕
I had a very nice visit with her at her home. which was way out in the back of beyond. She said when she moved to the area that was all that was available. Her husband was busy feeding the birds, which he had never done until she was unable to. Claire was a very special, insightful person and she will be missed.
Forrest Church has written, “The one thing that can’t be taken from us, even by death, is the love we give away before we go.” One of Claire’s legacies was her love of writing and her creativity shone like the warmth of the sun. She shared that love with us. I was in two meditation groups with her and one day she shared a poem entitled “Identity.” I loved it so much I wrote it down:
I am the ocean.
A wave arises.
Hello! I am a wave!
I see the world and it’s so exciting.
I tell the ocean what I see.
I fall back.
I am the ocean.
For a minute I thought I was a wave.
Let us be grateful for her gentleness, sensitivity and her love of words.
Beautiful tributes all. And, indeed, she will ever be known as the Bug Lady to many. The moving tributes provide a broader and deeper understanding of her and her life.
I would read that book of her Bug Lady chapter columns and pass it on to others. She was special.
Thanks, Randy for your beautiful elegy to Claire.
By the time I took my first hike with her, I was already a seasoned walker and thought I knew something about woods and fields. Claire immediately transformed the way I looked at the natural world. I discovered that my emphasis on distance covered, and overcoming the physical obstacles of gaining a view from a difficult promontory, had only merely scratched the surface. Claire didn’t cover so much ground because she possessed the uncanny ability to see beyond and knew where to search for the not so visible, but perhaps the most important aspect of nature, it’s subtle interconnectedness. She changed the way I saw the world in so many profound ways. Nonetheless, a walk was always a call for investigations and adventures. In the twilight days of fall, Claire always mourned the loss of light. She celebrated the return of the sun, even if only by seconds and minutes. For her, light was most assuredly on its way back to dominance. The revelation of fact that she loved Genesis 1 best came as no surprise. Creation was always a motivating driver in Claire’s life. She has now left us with this instruction, “Carry on!” While you’re at it, give C, S, N, and Y’s tune of the same name a spin. Love is surely, “coming to us all.” I was certainly ready for another 35-years of discovery. Now it is up to me, and the rest of us who knew and loved her, to slow down; look deeper; savor the moment; and to also enjoy the view when the prominence is finally attained. 🙂
Thanks very much, brother, for reminding us every Sunday what really matters. Thanksgiving to Creator.
Absolutely beautiful! I, too, love the book of Genesis. Thanks for making my days more meaningful.
I did not know nor know of Claire, though what a legacy of attention, devotion, love, and talent she gave to her critters and this wonderful community. Your sensitive tribute, Randy, and the recollections here from your readers are not only touching but a testament to her legacy. I have no doubts that Claire did “fare well” because this depth of critter and community love is always felt and received. Claire must have departed on beautiful wings into that vast ocean of pure joy and love.
In a previous life I managed a 50 acre apple orchard in Morgan County. It was not organic, but we used as few chemicals as we thought possible. Somehow, Claire found us – and visited regularly. She loved our orchard because we had such a diversity of insects, but in small numbers. She loved the natural balance of it.
Carry on. Love is coming to us all.
Dearest Claire,
I can see your face on zoom and your interesting comments.
I too love bugs, especially flying ones. Another set of gods creatures.
A hornet was in my house yesterday and was passing away.
I found some leaves and dirt and placed him on it and with the hour he had left.
I hope he is with you now.
May the longtime sun shine on you
All love surround you
And the pure light within you
Guide your way on.
These stories make me realize we are experiencing the same thing, these wonderful friendships that bind us. There is Impermanance, yet the forever glow of that heart gem grows open.. Steve, I want to share how much I thought of you two as this lovely pair, out in the world, sharing your homestead, keeping up with family, gardens, driveways, words, and the world. Insects abound. It’s really cool I met you both, a lifetime ago, and our friendship was just there, real and good. Ingram Spark will print up your book for Claire. They have templates and instructions on how to lay it out, ect. look it up, and see if it resonates with you. I see the book already, in our hands. ♥️