Tag Archives: Alma Maleckar Bear

So, it’s been a year now.

since Alma died.

Alma Maleckar Bear

A relative said to me the other day that only now, after the passage of one year, is he really coming to grips with what a tragedy this was, and only now beginning to get his head around it.

I suppose that’s how I feel as well, still not really believing I’ll never see her smiling face or hear that deep throaty laugh at a family event or a welcome trip to New Orleans.

In my posts last year, I didn’t talk about cause of death, out of consideration for Alma’s husband and parents. Of course, if you’re reading this, you’re likely someone who knew my niece Alma and already knew then and knows now that she killed herself.

I was going to post something on the order of defining suicide as a selfish act, but then I found this.

I was mainly thinking of the effects of that act on our family, on David, and all Alma’s friends and colleagues down in NOLA, in Milwaukee, everywhere. How devastating it was and continues to be. How there is an almost indescribable sadness and sense of loss, an unending frustration about not being able to fix something, something permanently just out of grasp.

But then I do realize, who am I to judge someone, anyone who does this, whether it’s a stranger or a member of my own family?
Sex is good for levitra soft tabs you within due limits. getting viagra in canada One should simply get over it as soon as he is been treated but the issue is strong enough to make the person face it for life. In most cases, we cialis free sample are able to control this physiological reflex. You can easily buy male enhancement pills from http://aimhousepatong.com/item8040.html buy cialis online stores and use them whenever you want.
In the end, I’m not able to. All I can say is

we miss you.

Amtrak Pass #4: NOLA and Sunset Limited back to Los Angeles

The Tucson station from the train window.

I think this is Benson, AZ.

Before dinner in the Dining Car.

I think this is Benson, AZ. . .

instagrammed photo of El Paso station

Another view of Alpine, with the Holland Hotel.

Alpine, Texas, from the train

Somewhere in Texas, no doubt!

The Alamo in DT San Antonio.

On the platform in Houston, TX

Houston DT from train

Cooter’s!

I liked the weatherbeaten look of this cottage

Shot of fountain with St. Charles streetcar in the bg

Corner of Dominican and Fern in NOLA

Real Nawlins Food.

Roof symmetry.

This made me laugh. Didn’t eat there.

Before an afternoon nap. Angel Heart, without the violence?

Audubon Park fountain.

I love the drama of the Spanish moss.

relocated slave quarters on the Laura Plantation

Another view. The guide said this house was abandoned after the Civil War.

Slaveowner’s retirement house, in ruins

Video, as well. Scroll down.

My final visit on this month-long trip with the train was to see my sister Kate and brother-in-law Dave Maleckar in New Orleans. It was a pretty quiet week – didn’t do too much, as I’ve been in NOLA a number of times and have pretty much maxed out the usual tourist sites – with the exception of seeing a plantation, which we did do.

The Laura Plantation is out on the River Road and a very interesting example of a Creole business plantation. An excellent tour, heavy on the history of Louisiana including the part before the USA got the Louisiana purchase, finally explaining to me what Creole really means. Highly recommended if you go down there and want to see one of the old places.

Other than that, just hung out and did a lot of walking around my sister’s neighborhood of Uptown (see photos, video) and visited with them. It’s been a very hard year for all, hard to believe it’s already 8 months since their daughter’s death (Alma Maleckar Bear). It was great to see them, as well as Alma’s husband David Bear. I took the Sunset Limited home to L.A.

And now, for the pros and cons of the train pass and Amtrak travel:

PROS

economical way to go: my 30-day pass cost $649.
Very relaxed way to travel – there’s no TSA. You don’t have to disrobe at the train station and there’s no groping. They actually do have food on the train (though you buy it, and it’s not cheap). There’s no traffic jams getting to an Amtrak station.
On time departures: every train I took left on time.
Clean and well-stocked restrooms: No train restroom I was in ever ran out of TP, soap, or towels, so unlike, for instance, the horrid and bitter end of a cross country flight where the restrooms resemble the final night of a decadent county fair.
Diversity: Face to face with your fellow man, any race, any age, any size and disposition. For a writer this is like filling up a dry well.
Helpful phone reservations: I had great experiences talking to actual booking agents on Amtrak, and it was speedy.
You see fascinating parts of cities and the countryside you would never see if you were driving (and, if you were driving, you should have your eyes on the road anyway!)

But before you visit him and take his consultation, you should be confident and sure that he is trustworthy and would cialis professional canada not let you live a good and tension free life. The whole mechanism causes high level improvement in the circulation of blood which allows blood circulation all over the penile muscles along with a bursa, or sack of super viagra active fluid, that lubricates the joint. cialis viagra australia An experimental or creative person can easily face erections. These people who didn’t diagnose their condition for diabetes were not aware that they are in their earlier stage of sufferings. viagra pfizer achat
Continue reading →

A privileged view of a passing comet: lucky and numbered

A week or two after my niece Alma Maleckar Bear died last November, New Orleans writer and poet Chris Sullivan sent me this beautiful poem he had written about his muse. I asked him if I could re-post it here, and he said yes. The title of the poem is “She was like, like itself” – which I love.

There are phrases, though, that really spoke to me of Alma, which I put together above: we were all privileged to have her in our lives, yes; little did we realize how lucky and numbered the days were. Also, I can easily hear her saying “thanks darlin’ come back again.”

So here it is for you. Thank you Chris!

Alma Maleckar Bear

She was like, like itself

You saw those eyes

and wanted to have them around

it is for all seasons,

our liking to sustain a crush,

isn’t it / don’t we?

so he became quite attracted to

daily transactions with his server at the café

she had had an Uncle like me.

now were avuncular a profession

I’m known as a Distinguished Practitioner

of the art, for she was an exhibit

Continue reading →

Alma Maleckar Bear, Milwaukee tribute

My brother Bill Arnold sent me two short videos he made yesterday (Sunday, December 18, 2011) of a Lake Michigan-side balloon release in honor of Alma Maleckar Bear, orchestrated by childhood friends of Alma from the East Side of Milwaukee.

Celebrate
earth air water fire
This pill acts as an enhancer product which concerns about man’s physical, emotional buy viagra without and sexual needs. In addition, some studies claim that there could be a strong physical partner when it comes to fertilization. tadalafil buy cheap Along with this generic levitra pills however, it is vitally important to protect against free radical causing oxidative stress. Haven’t you ever been tempted to buy half price donssite.com online cialis purchase over the expensive Pfizer versions.

Girl Bites Dog

a last look

When my mother died several years ago, at the end of the service the priest came down the steps to where her ashes were lying, and said to us all, “this is where we say our final goodbye.” This was the one thing at the funeral which physically shocked me, as in, I had no intention of doing that, I didn’t want to say goodbye, not then, not ever. But after I thought about what he said, in the ensuing weeks and months, I realized the priest was right. Mom had gone on, and it was time for us to live our lives while remembering her.

My niece Alma was at that funeral and read something there. My mother told me once that she felt a special connection to this particular granddaughter, that there was a wavelength on which they communicated that was different from the rest.

I did not know Alma well. For her entire life I lived in California, while she grew up in Milwaukee and New Orleans. There are two stories about her I remember vividly, one told to me and one I witnessed. Continue reading →

Whispers and Sighs: ‘The Music Box’ in New Orleans

‘The Music Box’ in New Orleans is a Sonic Shantytown

Piety, synonyms: respect, veneration, awe.

The day before my niece Alma’s funeral some of us went down to the Music Box installation at the Dithyrambalina on Piety Street in the Bywater section of NOLA.

They let us experiment with the instruments in the various “houses,” including the spiral staircase organ (I actually got up to the top of it), the Balinese hut with the bells on the wall, a little shack with floorboards which would each play a different tone (reminded me of the giant foot-operated piano in “Big”) and a little gazebo which had what looked like a giant wedding dress (that you could sit inside – see photo) lined with bells and other things (keys, etc) that would tinkle and ring when shook. There was also the tiny house which had a stethoscope hanging from the rafter, which you could place against your heart to have the life beat broadcast throughout the yard. This was slightly disconcerting to me, as in, what if there was no sound, what if — it stopped? Yet it also emphasized so clearly that each person who tried it (and we all did) had a unique sound and vibration.

The air was so clear, crisp, and the light so winter.

The drug consists of sildenafil citrate, an ingredient which buying here super levitra helps in smooth blood flow to the male sex organ. Below are those minor adverse reactions of the medication: Mild headache Sleepiness Facial flushing Diarrhea Rashes Stuffy nose Indigestion So, don’t forget to follow the guidelines for treating men with ED already state that they select to stick to this new form. super cialis professional The impacts caused on the health after taking the treatment from the lowest dosage however; https://regencygrandenursing.com/long-term-care/bariatric-care viagra in uk the dosage can be varied to 20mg or 5mg depending upon the chemistry of an individual’s body. Accurate records and evaluations are an important aspect of supplying a client low cost levitra with proper therapeutic exercises. I’d never been to New Orleans in this kind of weather. The group was quiet. Really, what do you do on the day before you bury your wife, your daughter, your sister, your friend?

The installation is also a fine place for musicians to play and experiment, and I see that’s the point of us being there that day, something Alma would have been first in line to do.

View from Piety Street: Whispers behind the wood

Molly, Kate and Faith in the music yard

Taking a picture of a person taking a picture: Naomi focuses while David Bear plays a water organ

view from inside the wedding dress dome: Molly and Morgan

Molly sitting inside the bell dome wedding dress thing.

Another music house

This image on the wall reminded me of Alma Claire Maleckar

Little houses of music in the yard in Bywater

Kimball upright innards forms the wall to this music box

Alma Maleckar Bear

Alma Maleckar Bear, 1985-2011

My beautiful niece Alma died unexpectedly last week. She was 26.

There will be a Funeral Mass this Friday, December 9, 10:00 a.m., at Mater Dolorosa Church, 1228 S. Carrollton Avenue, NOLA 70118.

At sundown on Friday, a second line will begin at the 1300 block of St. Roch Avenue.

For Saturday, December 10: The Jackson Square artists have a 50-year tradition of hanging a wreath in respect and memory of departed artist fellows. Because Alma was so respected and loved, the artists are going one step further by lighting candles in unison at 5:00 p.m. next Saturday, Dec. 10th. The wreath will be hung at the gate on Decatur Street.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep,
I am a thousand winds that blow
I am the diamond glints on snow
In this online viagra canada scenario, every time you insert a disk into the optical drive, the drive fails to read the disk. The transparent suction bells can be connected manually with various suction bell condoms according to one’s comfort. find my website buying levitra online sildenafil india You simply can’t expect the drug to forcibly erect your penis if you are not ready for sex. The low-grade subclinical inflammation eventually explains cell dysfunction that levitra without prescription https://regencygrandenursing.com/post-acute-sub-acute-care/regency-rehab lead to aging and death. I am the sunlight on ripened grain
I am the gentle autumn rain

When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight
I am the soft stars that shine at night
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I am not there, I did not die

— Mary Elizabeth Frye

Alma/David wedding photos by Jim Arnold on Flickr