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Susan's
Obituary
Susan's
dear friend Susan Bright found Susan's Tarot cards and wrote this.
Cards
I found them
by the bed
and later said I¹d like them
back
I said "back," because I¹m pretty
sure I gave them to her.
Inside I found
notes
from the last time I read
for her
something about
"changing the energy
by meeting fear with love"
which I don¹t remember
saying, or even understanding
very well
so it must have been
her transforming
what I said to say something
useful.
So last night
I was reading
for a new friend who
traveled here to visit the library
we sent Susan¹s papers to
when Valerie stopped in
with a bag of fresh bread
and said
can you do a reading
for Susan with those cards?
I spread the
cards
and pulled from the trail of them
at random
The Hermit
moving profoundly
through the universe, carrying light,
jackels braying at her heels.
Prince of Swords
reality coming apart, unstable
now, fast flying through
everything changing
body to ash, for instance.
Abundance
for instance all of us,
this love
that pours and pours
through every level
Peace
she wanted that,
spirit swords balanced
we laugh in her cadence
sometimes.
Princess of
Cups
the romantic one,
swimming through new bones,
the truth of it.
Interference
Stop asking now.
The Empress
great mother goddess
which she as much as anyone
anywhere, brought
back to reality.
Gain
she¹s better now.
Princess of
Disks
peering into the depths
of earth and the universe
on the ledge
of more
transformation.
Ace of Cups
how she signed
her mail to us
"hugs,
susan"
©Susan
Bright, Feb 24, 2002
This
came from Bonny Caraway, one of the people Susan got to know while
working on the death penalty book.
I am a friend of Susan's. We became close just
recently as she was working on a book about
innocence
on death row and one of my friends was
one of her dear friends - Anthony Graves.
She
was a wonderful, caring, and hard working lady.
I admired Susan so much. She never gave up. This
is a sad time indeed to lose such a beautiful human being. I offer
my blessings and I know that Susan
has gone on to a very special place with a special
set of angel wings awaiting her there. I am so sorry.
This is a great loss. My prayers are with Susan's
family and friends. And I know she had many.
In my prayers,
Bonnie Caraway
Justice For Graves
http://www.geocities.com/bonnie_jo77561/deathrow.html
Sharon
Anderson Rose was one of Susan's childhood friends who shared
her love of Elvis.
My friendship
with Susan dates back to junior high school in Houston. Fortunate
for me, we maintained contact throughout the years. Her influence
in my life choices was major. My memories of Susan include
sequestering
ourselves for months one summer writing 'We Want Elvis' cards
to submit to a
local radio station in Houston, resulting in our meeting him
backstage during his first Houston performance in 1957, and
many years later,
driving
together to Norman, OK, (Susan singing along to Janis Joplin's
version of "Bobby McGee") so she could attend a workshop
relating to Native Americans.
Her accomplishments are many........her greatest pride, however,
seemed to be her daughters. I shall never forget her.
Sharon Anderson
Rose
Oklahoma City, OK
This
came from Debbie Crosby, another of Susan's contacts from her work
on the death penalty.
Hi, I live in
Whitehouse, TX which is just outside of Tyler. Tyler is east of
Dallas. I knew Susan because of my Brother. She contacted me to
talk about him and how his sentencing and death has affected my
family.
My brother's
name was David Stoker. Susan wrote some about his case in her book.
I had sent her a picture of my family because we (Susan and I)
had become friends talking over the phone and email. I ask her to
make sure and not put the picture in the book or information on
where any of us
live. She
agreed to my wishes.
My brother was
executed in 97. My family has
been through a lot with all that has happened. Susan was very understanding
to that fact. Susan was a very caring person. I will miss her greatly.
Thanks,
Debbie
This
signed letter to the editor, written by Don Darling, was hanging
in Susan's room.
Here
is a note and some verses from Lee Gold, one of Susan's old friends
from Washington.
Dear
friends and family of Susan,
Spent
yesterday wreathed in sadness, clinging to memories and wishing
for the community of friends and strangers who had known Susan.
Thank you for the reminiscences and descriptions of her accomplishments
which have arrived to fill the void.
The cold, rainy, damp. gray day felt comforting, appropriate for
my mood but hardly fitting for a
person so charged with light and life and passion. Today the sun
is shining and I can only hope it is doing the same in Austin.
Before
falling asleep I remembered Susan lugging sculptures which always
seemed bigger than she was from one room to another in her house
in Washington. I do not remember the mess but then mess is a familiar
part of my environment.
Then there was a Washington reunion long after I'd left when Susan
had recently begun her goddess jewelry and I bought a silver Gaia,
large, exuberant and dancing. I wore it, with some trepidation,
onto the plane. The first words out of the steward's mouth were
"I love that! Where did you get it?" Similar words have
always greeted me when I wear it and I could have sold hundreds
over the years. It
was what I wore when I felt I needed strength or courage and what
I wore when I felt as full of life as the goddess herself.
Our
email intimacy grew over the past few years sharing outrage in the
larger world and personal struggles. I still cannot believe this
source of connection is stilled. To comfort myself and find words
that did justice to such an amazing soul, I went to bed with one
of my favorite poets who offers
me solace and a deep connection to the natural world, Mary Oliver.
Here are a few lines:
"In the
book of the earth it is written:
nothing can die.
In the book
of the Sioux it is written:
they have gone away into the earth to hide.
Nothing can coax them out again
but the people dancing."
from "Ghosts"
And about her
it can never be said, "she simply visited this world."
"When it's
over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
When it's over,
I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.
I don't want
to end up simply having visited this world."
from "When
Death Comes"
Thinking of
all of you and her friends and family and especially of
Susan herself in all her shimmering, committed, energetic
manifestations.
Love, Lee
This
came from Liz Wally.
I think of Susan
as ever optimistic, an intrepid warrior with an earthy laugh, and
a loving protector of all who are in need. I miss her presence on
our earth and will for a long, long time.
Liz Wally
Here's
a note from Regina Bueno Renke in another part of the world Susan
touched.
My name is Regina
Bueno Renke. I want to let
you know how painful it is to realize that Susan is no
longer among us. Please send my condolences to her children and
other family members. I just spoke with her on the phone just last
january. She was
responsible to help a common friend in South Africa.
God this is so painful to realize that she is no
longer a phone call away.
God we have
lost an incredible, loving, humble and caring woman. There aren't
many like her left in the activist movement. I am so sorry I live
in Vancouver (still Canada) and cannot come to any of the ceremonies.
Please give my name and phone number to the family in case they
need anything from up here. Susan was an example of tenacity
and
real integrity. I am already in tears just thinking about how she
accepted people and was so extremely knowledgeable about the environmental
issues.
It was with
Suzan that I learned about Bale Hay
construction and the Nuke Museum (that she was so kind in doing
it). Anyway, I cannot stop crying,
Regina Bueno
Renke
#2 - 1247 Kingsway
Vancouver - BC Canada
604 - 709-0812
This
came from Susan's South African friend, Sizani Ngubane.
This message
is to say thank ever so much for creating a web site for our friend
Susan. I am feeling very empty without her from such a distance.
She has been
a great inspiration for me I am where I am today because of her
spiritual support. I am not too sure how to deal with this problem.
All the best
with the creation of the web site - this would be a great honour
to her.
Sizani
This
came from Susan's Arkansas friend, Yael.
Dearest friends of Susan's,
Like all of you, I am shocked by Susan's passing. I had the great
blessing of being true, passionate, best friends with Susan while
she was here in Arkansas.
Susan came into my life at a time when I had just been diagnosed
with a progressive genetic disease that is very disabling and painful.
Susan was a gift from God, a shining light, full of life and energy
and vitality. She introduced me to a new reverence for the Earth
religions as well as sending me into fits of laughter with some
of her songs that she sang to me!
Another gift that came to me out of those darkest times was the
gift of a deep communion with God. A communion that, upon meeting
my husband and marrying him, blossomed into full-fledged communications.
These beautiful, inspired communications have become my life's work.
And, as our work expanded, I also became able to communicate with
animals.
Last week, seemingly out of the blue, I received a message from
my beautiful Magic Cat. I call him "Garfield's Understudy",
and Susan loved him. He weighs about 18 pounds and he's 15 years
old. He's gray and white and he has the most beautiful almond shaped
eyes. This communication, that came to me from him last week was
on death! As soon as I heard about Susan, I understood why.
I would like to share this communication with all of you because
I know that if you are friends of Susan's, you are also open hearted
explorers of the mysteries of life.
I know this gift, of this message, is a "special delivery"
for all of us who are here, left behind. I also know that Susan,
in her glorious vitality is now dancing and singing with joy and
gusto on a far of larger "stage" of life!
With love,
Yaël
yaelhana@ipa.net
www.circleoflight.net
MAGIC CAT ON DEATH
2-11-02
Well! Its
about time you listened to me! Ive been patiently waiting
in line to get through. You kept saying you wanted to listen to
me, but something else was always more pressing. Great messages
from the Creator and things of that nature. That is such a human
thing to do. All of you are always seeking the exciting revelation,
the great meaning, when you would be far better served by the simple
and immediate messages of the things around you. The things around
you reflect you. The way you are here and now. The things you have
drawn into your life and the answers to the questions of how to
live this life now, in a breakthrough way. So while I know you like
the importance of knowing the big things, you might consider the
practice of true humility. As much can be revealed to you in the
blossom of a flower as in all the cosmic layers of the grand universe.
You also might consider having more CAT wisdom!
Tonight I am
going to speak to you about death. This is a subject that is on
your mind often when you look at me. (No, Im not leaving any
time soon.) Because Im what you see as older,
you have fears about losing me. It is a very good thing
that you use the Violet Flame to immediately transform these thoughts.
But it is now in your timing to explore this topic. It has even
come to you in the book youre reading. It is fine to be looking
at the Ascension process for this is on the program for human beings,
but before you can even begin to draw that to you, you must be completely
free of any charged feelings about the normal death process. I want
to help you.
First, let me
tell you how it looks to a cat. It is nothing to even be concerned
about. We are slipping in and out of here continually. We are not
at all like humans. For we have not cut ourselves off from the rest
of Creation and from the rest of our beings, as humanity has. To
us it is less of a problem than taking off the clothes that you
humans wear. You have an image I have seen in your mind that explains
it accurately. This is exactly how death is. [Note from Yaël:
this is the scene in the movie, Cocoon, in the pool where she unzips
her body and flies in her light body.]
We dance each
day on the Web of Life. We see all around us the entrance points
to the spiritual world. And we regularly slip through to expand
ourselves, to dance and play and resonate with all of our Creators
life
The process
of dying is a great reunion of the heart. I know this because, being
free, I watch it all the time. Remember, there is a reason why cats
sleep so much. We are exploring the rest of the Web of Life. So
I often stand back and watch what happens as a person phases out
of the incarnated consciousness and phases in to the larger reality.
The first thing that I see is the signal of the heart. There is
an actual beam of light emanating from the consciousness, and there
is a vibrational pattern or song from the heart. As this issues
forth, there is a great magnetic response. It is through this response
that all beings in your sector, your slice of life, are drawn perfectly
to you. It is like a vibrational lock and key, with the two parts
opening in unison with complementary and interweaving energy patterns.
So, see who
it is that is drawn to your heart. Now, in this Im not saying
you are preparing for a death experience. Not at all. Rather, that
it will enrich your life right now to have contact with your larger
family. As you are right now experiencing, these beings in your
larger family are going to become an ever greater and clearer part
of your life. For those who are climbing into the highest tree branches
where you can easily see beyond the veil and into the Web of Life,
well, you will simply become like a cat! You will dance across the
bridge of Time to play the songs of Love, as your feet touch the
chords of the great strings of the weaving of the Web of Life.
I can promise
you that as you dance forth into the adventure, first you will see
beauty but as if you were in a bit of a fog. Then as the fog clears,
your heart will call you to play your song. Again, its difficult
to explain. But once you see yourself and know yourself, you will
intuitively know how to play the song of your being by the way you
move on/in the great tapestry. This song of your being is the most
beautiful experience. It is infallible. It describes you absolutely
perfectly to all who are a part of this dancing and radiant life.
Ah, it is like this communion between us, only far more beautiful
and far clearer.
God is radiant
Love. This Love is seeking you every moment through all eternity.
Unless you consciously turn away, God will always find you. So,
anyone who is not actively away from God will be with God. You may
want to read this a large number of times until it is fully accepted
in your consciousness. I hope you see from this that you will never
be lost. There can be no negative experiences and nothing can pretend
otherwise, unless you actively choose to turn away. Since certainly
you have not turned away, God will always find you, commune with
you, lift you. God is reaching to you, to know you in joined communion
of consciousness always.
Now shedding
the weight of the body is one way to come into this pared down relationship
in which all incorrect interpretations of the consciousness are
overcome (risen over). But it is also a very viable option to develop
the total communion with the truth of life, the great Web of Life,
through the body so it does not become an obstacle or impediment.
This is what God is bringing to you in this discussion tonight and
other things you have been considering. If the body becomes a conscious
conduit of the connecting Love, it can itself be raised up; it can
overcome all limitation, even death.
What you are
beginning to learn about the truth of your cells is no accident.
They are open beings, articles on their own vision quest. Once
you recognize this, you can essentially shoot the light through
the cells and commune directly with the Web of Life. So understanding
and including these cells not only dramatically increases your
light
quotient, it enhances the flow of information between All That
Is without and All That Is within. Then what you find in the
purity
of Love, greater Love, without, becomes what is within.
This a topic
we most definitely need to cover from other angles. Thanks for listening.
Here's
a note from fellow jeweler and videographer Jim Lutz.
Ric,
I enjoyed visiting
the website. It's a beautiful memorial.
I first met
Susan when we were involved with ACTV in the 70's. She was still
living with her husband behind Wheatsville. From the first time
I met her Susan was an activist and always tried to maximize
the
reach of her message. At that time she had a grant to create four
community television
programs which I believe had to do with childrens issues perhaps
tied to the Creative Rapid Learning Center and their work with
disadvantaged
students.
We visited at
the Kerrville Folk Festival where Susan had her nuclear power information
dissemination project on wheels. No nukes is good nukes.
Over the years
we talked of our jewelry creations and more recently we have visited
at your home at the Pedernales. She was always a bright and focused
spirit and the kind of creative and caring person that helped make
Austin the cultural mecca that I have known these past decades.
She has made
the world a better place.
This life is
short. Act like this is the only one you have. Love is priceless.
Jim Lutz
This
article was written by Don Fitz, editor of Synthesis/Regeneration:
A Magazine of Green Social Thought. Susan co-edited 3 issues of
the magazine with Don
REMEMBERING
SUSAN LEE SOLAR
by Don Fitz,
Green Party of St. Louis/Gateway Green Alliance
Susan Lee Solar
died of steptococcal pneumonia on February 13, 2002 at South Austin
Hospital. Readers of Synthesis/Regeneration: A Magazine of Green
Social Thought (S/R) may remember that she edited three issues on
nuclear themes in 1996.
I first met
Susan in July, 1995 at the annual gathering of The Greens/Green
Party USA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At one of the workshops I
announced that we needed people to write and edit for S/R. Afterwards,
she talked about so many themes she wanted to be cover that I asked
her if she wanted to edit an entire issue. She agreed. But what
was planned to be one issue turned into three as we worked together
through the next year and a half.
The first undertaking,
S/R 9 (Winter, 1996), focussed on "Nuclear Hot Spots."
Susan had said that she loved the S/R philosophy that the first
choice for articles should be activists describing their work and
exemplifying it for others. She knew an incredible number of people
who had been working on nuke issues throughout the world. Articles
told of struggles around the Mururoa Atoll, Prairie Island MN, Cape
Fear NC, Homer LA, Church Rock AZ, Ogalla Qquifer TX, Sierra Blanca
TX, Carlsbad NM Crownpoint NM, Mescalero Reservation NM, Santa Fe
NM and at Capitol Hill to halt nuclear waste transportation. Susan's
own article described the "Earth and Sky Women's Peace Caravan
Museum to End the Nuclear Age" which many had seen driving
around the US:
"By mid-June
of 1995, the caravan had materialized into a bright blue converted
RV museum with an original interior design, fitted out with solar
panels to run lights, fans, a computer-based radiation monitor,
a high-8 video camera and a TV-VCR
Exhibits cover the history
and legacy of the nuclear age, from uranium mining and proc-essing,
nuclear power reactors, and bomb-making/testing, to transport and
waste management, with hands-on experience in radiation monitoring."
(p. 24)
The second issue,
S/R 10 (Spring, 1996), dealt with "Nukes and Public Health."
It recounted one tragic story after another of people who suffered
from living near or working at nuclear sites. I took copies to the
public hearing for the proposed nuclear waste dump at Sierra Blanca
in west Texas. Susan introduced me to an incredible variety of people
fighting against nukes, many of whom had written or would soon write
for S/R. Upon Su-san's prompting, I gave testimony comparing the
lack of candor constructing the incinerator at Times Beach MO to
the empty promises made to this poor Hispanic community.
The last of
the S/Rs, No. 11 (Fall, 1996), addressed "The Political Economy
of Nuclear Power." It featured a full cover photo of Germans
lying on a railroad track to block shipment of nuclear waste to
Gorleben. The lead article by Ellen Diederich told how the nuclear
waste dump could destroy the German town. At that time, the memory
of German Greens using elected positions to strengthen mass opposition
to war and nukes was fresh in people's minds.
As we completed
the series of S/Rs Susan drove her travelling blue museum to St.
Louis and local Greens toured it. At that time, we were just beginning
our cable TV show, Green Time, and Susan conducted one of our first
taped interviews. Barbara Chicherio interviewed her inside the museum
and local activist Kay Drey dis-cussed it in the studio.
The day before
Susan departed St. Louis we were reminiscing at the kitchen table
and I mentioned that I had grown up in Houston.
"I grew
up in Houston, too!" she responded with surprise. "What
part of Houston did you live in?"
"Southwest
Houston," I told her.
"Really.
Where did you go to high school?" she wanted to know.
"Lamar
High School."
"I went
to Lamar High School!" she shrieked as everyone listening burst
out laughing. It didn't surprise anyone who knew us both that we
could work together for over a year and be so focussed on what we
were doing that we would not figure out until then that we went
to the same school, separated by only a few years.
Soon after,
she changed her legal name to Susan Lee Solar. In 1998, she used
her new name to be the first Green Party candidate for state-wide
office in Texas. Fulfilling the original Green promise, Susan used
the cam-paign to spread her message about nuclear power.
The next year,
she invited me to come to the founding convention of the Texas Green
Party and present a workshop on genetic engineering. It never occurred
to me that that would be the last time I would see her.
Susan solicited
and referred articles to S/R as its Nuke Advisor through number
22 (Spring 2000) and then told me that she was too absorbed in other
projects to continue.
Though the issues
of oppression that touched Susan's heart were many-from sexism to
the death penalty to human rights violations in Guatemala-none was
more central than the unspeakable horrors of nukes. For every-one
who would like to honor the memory of Susan Lee Solar, those who
did not know her as well as those who did, there is no better way
than to struggle to bring an end to nuclear power, nuclear waste
transportation and the threat of nuclear war.
Ric Sternberg
created a beautiful webpage in Susan Lee Solar's memory. It is at:
http://www.aimproductions.com/SusanLee/
Thanks
for the kind words, Don.
The Synthesis/Regeneration website is at: http://www.greens.org/s-r/
Here's
a link to another tribute to Susan, which appears in the April,
2002 issue of Touchstone Magazine:
http://www.rtis.com/touchstone/apr02/14.htm
Lovely Susan.
I remember some exquisite goddess figures she crafted back in the
1980s. Tiny jewels in silver, detailed, beautiful. They were like
seeds to plant courage and optimism for the journey. But her best
seeds came from her radiant smiles and laughter, her quick wit and
thoughtful attention. She made whoever she was talking with feel
like the best person in the world. Good legacies you gave us. Thank
you, Susan.
Martha Berryman
|
A
letter from Susan's family on the Family page
Here
is a letter sent to Marcia Lucas, one of Susan's best friends, by
Marcia's daughter, Alexandra Barton.
Dear Mommy,
Please let everyone know that Susan Lee is deep in my thoughts and
that I am sending hugs and loving energy to all of her family and
friends.
I was thinking about how long I have known Susan and I actually
can't remember NOT knowing her...she was always a presence and an
inspiration in my life. Memories of camping together as kids - her
van with the pop up top, exploring san marcos together...playing
at their house next to Wheatsville...
Thinking back to just a few years ago, swimming with her in the
Blanco river and talking about my new career choice and interest
in coaching - she was actually one of the first few people to tell
me about Coaching and Coach University.
Thinking back to women's circles shared with you, Susan and others....feeling
her voice and the amazing power and energy she held in such a little
body.
Thinking back to the jewelry she made - wild goddess creations that
seemed to somehow give me permission to know and appreciate the
goddess within me. I have one of her pieces on a shrine/altar in
my home and the other is tied around a black silk cord - I'm wearing
it now. I actually took it out just a few days ago, tied it around
my neck and let my thoughts drift to Susan, thanking her for it.
The Goddess I am wearing now in honor of Susan is
Nuith - she is the egyptian goddess that gives birth to the sun
and moon everyday - a wonderful creator, a brilliant manifestor
and filled with an abundance of life. She wears stars on her body
for the night sky.
May Susan be shined on by the gracious abundant warmth, love and
joy of heaven. May she know that she was/is well loved. May she
know that her spirit will always be with us.
I love you Mommy, I am so sorry and deeply saddened. Please give
all of my love to Susan's sisters, Pam and Camille and the all of
her friends.
Alexandra
This
is from Hope & Steve Phillips, Susan's neighbors on the Pedernales
River.
We are still
trying to comprehend how someone so young and well could go so quickly.
We will meditate and pray for Susan in the grotto temple.
She is part of the river now. Her loss has added to its sacredness.
Love and thoughts,
Hope and Stephen
Hillary
Hart was another of Susan's River neighbors.
Oh my, this
is so sad. I was thinking the other day that I hadn't seen Susan
since the fall, down by the river.
I will always see her playing her guitar in the grotto.
Hillary
This
note came from Phil Schulman
I had lost touch with Susan. I knew her through a peer counseling
community. We would get together at conferences, sometimes in activist
support groups. She was a wonderful woman, peaceful, warm and most
of all RIGHT ON! She certainly gave us all a lot. The world could
use many more people like her!
Phil Schulman
Minister Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
of St Thomas- St John (USVI)
This
poem and note from Pedro Nieto.
Requiem for
Susan
The terrible day she died did night
descend to hide the truth that would
not stay revealed: yes! she had lived her
life shining with beauty, tho darkness'
forces tried with great futility to
extinguish her blindingly bright light.
Yet though
she might from this fragile
and illusory life be gone, she blazes on
forever in celestial firmament, among
the lovely stars.
Pedro Galindo
Nieto
Copyright ©2002
Pedro Nieto
I only knew
her for a few weeks, but it was long enough..I only saw her once,
but it was on my birthday, less than a week before she died, it
was last Friday, and she insisted on meeting me, though she was
sick with the flu...see you Sunday.
From: Pedro
bigpadre@hotmail.com
Susan
loved her Uncle Sonny, Paul Wells Sr. Here's what he wrote about
her.
When I spoke
briefly at my oldest niece's Memorial Service, I was still in a
state of shock at her sudden and totally unexpected departure from
us. Consequently, I did not say a lot of things about her that I
wish I had.
Among them are these:
(1) Susan never heard or at least paid no attention to the tried
and "true" saying: "You can't fight City Hall."
Susan not only fought City Hall but often brought City Hall to heel,
with the fervent hope that they'd never be engaged in such a fight
again.
(2) Susan's skills at organizing friends, neighbors, and strangers
for a cause manifested themselves early in her life.
When she was quite young, perhaps 13 or so, a radio station in her
hometown of Houston sponsored a contest in which the prize- winner
would get to come to the station and personally meet the greatest
celebrity of the day, Elvis Pressley. All one had to do to win was
send in one million (1,000,000) pieces of paper with the words "We
want Elvis" written on each.
For weeks, when I would visit her house, she and any number of other
little teeny-boppers would be laying around on the living room floor,
writing "We want Elvis" on scraps and scraps of paper.
She succeeded and, when the time came to go to the station to meet
the idol of teenagers everywhere, she was so sick of "We want
Elvis", that she didn't even care about going!
I wish I had shared these memories and many others with her friends
and family last Sunday, but I found it very difficult to speak of
my recollections of that incredible, star-crossed, indominantable
elf.
Uncle Sonny
This
is from Paul Wells Jr., Susan's cousin.
To the family
and friends of Susan,
I'm Susan's
first cousin and I live in Golden,
Colorado.
A year and a
half ago I re-met a person who my wife
Johanna and I have become very close to and impressed with over
time. This person is driven, dedicated, caring, compassionate, worldly,
fun, curious, classy, friendly, and simply a really cool person
to hang with and share moments.
I've always
wondered how this person became who she is today and who her influences
for life were and after reading your desription of my cousin Susan,
I now know some of the reasons why Pamela is who she is. I have
re-met my cousin Camille as well over
the holidays this year and I get the same impression of her.
I now regret
not spending some more of my time with
such a unique individual as Susan. I'm proud I am part of her family.
paul wells,
jr.
This
is from Ellen Diederich, the director of the Women's Peace Archive
in Oberhausen, Germany.
I just came
home from a trip, where I did several speeches on the present situation.
Twice I showed slide shows on women peace activities to
encourage young women, to go on. I had a slide of the anti-nuclear-peace
caravan museum, which was taken by Susan to so many different places.
I just came home and read about her death. I am terribly sad, remembering
us going to Gorleben in Germany, going on the peace caravan to Los
Alamos, to the Nevada Test Site. I remember that she was the first
woman, who taught me about the goddesses in 1984 at the first meeting
at Stonehaven.
I will be with
you in spirit for her funeral.
Love and peace
Ellen
Here's
a note from Diane Donaldson.
I never met
Susan in person, but I corresponded with her when I ordered a piece
of her jewelry. I am an amateur Egyptologist, and when I became
pregnant in the fall of 2000, I wanted to get a pendant of Tauret,
the Egyptian goddess of protection during pregnancy and childbirth.
I ordered one from Susan and even though it was a piece that she
seldom sold, she
special ordered one for me and got it to me well before my baby
was born. I wore it before, during, and after the birth, and it
is still one of my favorite pieces.
I'm very sorry
to hear of Susan's death, please let me know where the memorial
website is going to be.
djd
This
came in from Laura Burns, one of the many people that Susan helped
in some way.
In 1979 I told
Susan I was looking for a place to stay, hoping she'd give me some
kind of lead on something. She immediately offered to rent a room
in her home to me and my younger son. I was overwhelmed with gratitude
at her generosity.
I'd known her
at UT and thought she was witty and funny. But we weren't all that
close, so I was surprised. I came to realize that her openness to
experience was what helped her to be generous. It really made a
difference to me. I stayed there, freelancing, until I finally found
a job in another town. (I kept measuring my success as a freelance
writer
by the fact that I kept being allotted fewer and fewer food stamps
each month.)
My little boy,
now 26, was thrilled to have a dragon hanging on the dining room
wall where he lived. I think it must have affected him somehow --
he's an activist and Susan (with whom I have stayed in contact all
these years) was thrilled to hear about it, sent me words of encouragement
when the Mouse (Edward's name, so he insisted when he was younger)
was in jail.
I admired her
ability to take risks, to be on the edge, ahead of the curve. She
observed that her therapist said she had "gifted child syndrome"
-- too
many great ideas, not enough ability to focus and concentrate --
but I'd say she carried through on more things than most people.
Goodbye Susan.
Send me some of your bravery and energy.
Liz
Martinez writes of her gratitude for Susan's efforts to stop the
Sierra Blanca nuclear dump.
I can not express
to you the great loss we share in Susan's passing. You must know
that we will always be indebted to Susan as well as the many others
who made such an impact during our Nuclear battle here in West Texas
in Ward County. My name is Liz Martinez and I am from Monahans,
Texas. It is with great pleasure to share with you in which our
paths crossed. During our Nuclear battle Susan was instrumental
in bringing much needed information along with Bill Addington, Karen
Hadden, Erin Rogers, and many others in stopping the Nuclear Waste
Co. Envirocare from moving into our community. We were successful
in running them out of our community for now. We are aware of the
possibility of another Waste company trying to move in as well.
We are an ideal site for their plans for a Nuclear Waste Dump according
to their maps.
I am an ordinary
business woman here and seeing the need for a change in our local
government I decided to run for County Commissioner. There are three
County Commissioners who welcomed the Nuclear company into our community
and now I have stepped up to the plate and have decided to challenge
the commissioner in my precinct. I credit this to my good Lord as
well as to those who encouraged me in the battle against the Nuclear
Waste. This includes Susan Solar who has been an inspiration for
me. I shall work hard to seek this position even more so in memory
of Susan. I know in my heart our good Lord has called her to reward
her for all the good work she has done here on his beautiful earth.
I shall keep you and yours in my prayers as well as Susan. Again
thank you for sharing Susan with us here in West Texas.
May God Bless
you,
Liz Z. Martinez
Maria
Limon worked with Susan at the Foundation for a Compassionate Society.
She sent this tribute.
I love Susan,
mostly because she taught me about
magic, faith, and hope.
In the mid 90s
I worked with Susan at the Foundation
for a Compassionate Society when she was directing the Women's Peace
Caravan, the famous blue museum she toured around the country and
in Mexico. Pat Cuney, Frida Werden, Susan and I were attending the
National Women's Studies Association conference in Oklahoma; most
of us flew while Susan drove the Peace Caravan up. Honestly, I didn't
want to drive in the Caravan. It had a gas leak that made for some
pretty mean headaches.
As was usually
the case, Susan got her wires crossed and ended up leaving Texas
under the assumption that Pat and I had the financial resources
she would need in order to return to Texas and pay her expenses
and for the mechanic from West Texas she had hired to travel with
her. (She had invited his wife to come along for the ride as well.)
They arrived in Oklahoma about a day late and more than a dollar
short 'cause yes, the rv had broken down, and she'd used all her
money to get it goin' again.
It took Pat
and Susan about one afternoon to hatch an emergency fundraising
plan: a carnival to be held in the dorm lobby. Pat got some of the
women from the spirituality caucus at the conference to donate
services and attend. Susan put together some flyers
and started circulating them. Lord knows all my
naysaying didn't stop them. I didn't think it would
work. It was a crazy idea.
Came time for
the carnival, there was music and folks were doing
foot massages, doing tarot readings, reciting poetry,
reading tea leaves, and selling Susan's jewelry.
My job was to schedule folks for services and direct
payments. I totally got into it. And yes, it worked just fine.
Enough jewelry was sold, enough cards and tea leaves
read, and enough shoulders massaged to get Susan the money she needed for the next
leg of her tour.
It is a great
story, not just 'cause of the details.
I was always humbled by Susan's generous spirit. She challenged
every capitalistic cell in my body, every tendency I learned to
cling to resource, whether it was emotional or financial. She defied
all the hopelessness that racism, sexism, and homophobia have instilled
in me, every inclination to act as if things would never change,
and it drove me crazy (crazy not being a bad thing.) She urged
me
to love in ways that I thought were impossible and to make lots
of room for many different kinds of humans. That is where she derived
her own security, from her connections to others.
Yes, my keyboard's
getting splashed with tears. I
miss Susan. I cannot imagine an act of civil
disobedience without her. My grief is also fueled by
the knowledge that the world is not the place that
Susan envisioned. I am so sorry that we've not
figured a way out of the madness and that the body
count will continue to rise. As connected as that
sweet, scatter-brained, brilliant woman was, she was also
alone. She didn't know that she could count on people,
that she could lean heavily on us for support herself.
This fact is my greatest source of anguish; my shoulder could have been more available.
Where to now?
I'll check on my beloved gaggle of
activist friends, encourage their own self-care by
caring for myself. I'll sponsor my own creative act
of civil disobedience on what may seem a whim. I'll
believe in magic and in the possibility of great
things. I'll summon Susan along the way, listen for
the quiet shuffle of her feet at the next rally I
attend, and look for her shadow along the banks of the Pedernales.
Here
are a note and some haikus from Vic Hummert, one of Susan's friends
from Dallas.
During my three
years in Dallas, the Maryknoll Education Office was on the same
floor with the Dallas Peace Center. I enjoyed the daily meetings
with Susan and found much inspiration from her dedication to a better
world. I want to send a haiku or two for her:
Her awareness
was cosmic:
With deep compassion
Comes keen sensitivity
To everyone's pain
We shall make
our leap
From this brief sojourn to life
In God's chosen hour
God alone can
call
Anyone at any time
From everybody
May she rest
in peace and continue to inspire those of us who remain.
Vic
Hummert in Lafayette, LA
This
came from Richard Boren, another veteran of the Sierra blanca struggle.
As
You Go On Your Journey
Susan my friend there are many things about you I will never forget
How you sacrificed
so much for Mother Earth and her residents
Some of your
causes were doomed from the start
The triumphs
were few, but still you persisted
I got to know
you well, but certainly not well enough
I knew early
on of your sincerity and your generosity
You even offered
me half of your salary to help keep me going
I refused, but
I knew you really meant it
Sometimes we
even laughed at your endeavors
But your dreams
didn't exist to please others
Susan you left
this world a better place
and I thank
you for what you've done
The next time
I go to Sierra Blanca
I will pile
some rocks together at the entrance to the old dump site
This will be
my memorial to you, in a place where you gave so much
Hasta luego
my friend
Richard Boren
Feb. 16, 2002
Tucson, AZ
This
came from Mike Harris, who worked alongside Susan on our house on
several occasions.
Ric,
I never realized
when I spoke with Susan how self-effacing about her own accomplishments
she was. Reading her obituary and browsing through your
site makes me realize what a treasure we had in Susan. Her passing
was truly a loss to the spirit of "the old Austin" far
exceeding the loss of such ordinary replaceable physical treasures
as the original Armadillo and Liberty Lunch.
In a conversation
with Susan you would never know her history. She was feisty, opinionated,
erudite and intelligent but in all the many talks I had with her
at your home she never talked about her past but only what she hoped
to accomplish in the future.
Susan and I
didn't see eye to eye on a few issues. When we disagreed (which
was often) she never made it a personal issue but rather understood
that disagreement on some rather strongly held points of view does
not necessarily rule out friendship with someone who does not share
those particular opinions.
I'll miss her.
--
Mike Harris
The
following obituary was written by Susan Bright for the Texas Cure
newsletter.
Susan Lee Campbell
Solar, beloved and respected prison reform activist died suddenly
from complications of pneumonia on February 13, 2002. Her upcoming
book, "Canaries for Justice" about capital punishment
in Texas begins: "In January 2000, determined to pursue a 9
to 5 job so I could build my dream "green" home of strawbales
and earth (cob) on the Pedernales River, I got caught up against
my own intention in researching and writing about a really grim,
even grisly theme: capital punishment in Texas. . . . That month
twelve men were put to death by the end of the year the toll
would rise to 39 men and a single woman. . . . The rush to kill
was gathering attention at every level, from local to global."
Susan Lee Solar
was drawn to many realms of art and activism, education and revolution
during the almost thirty years I knew her. We were so close that
when I wrote her obituary I checked my own resume to be sure of
the dates. Yet there were hundreds of things she accomplished I
didn¹t witness, and some I didn¹t even know about.
Susan Lee¹s
activism wasn¹t an idea, a theory. She protected the earth
because she loved it. She was a bodyguard for Jennifer Harbury when
she confronted the Guatemalan government that killed her husband,
because Susan was horrified by the death squads. There wasn¹t
much about splitting atoms that was okay for Susan. She opposed
the Nuke because she considered it a poor idea to blast apart the
fabric of reality. A worse idea to dump the poison it generates
back onto a living planet. Why not use the sun, the wind? She wrote
a book about the death penalty in Texas because she was convinced
it is barbaric.
Susan Bright,
poet/publisher
Plain View Press
Here's
a note from Glee Ingram, another of Susan's best friends.
Hi Annie,
One month ago
today, we said goodbye to sweet Susan. The time seems so dense,
the waves of realization and grief somewhat slowed. I feel her essence
a lot. I miss her self-deprecating laugh, her smiling face and tiny,
creative hands. Her stories, introducing me to parts of the world
I would never know on my own. Her heart-felt appreciation of the
world at large. I find it hard to fathom that a uniqueness like
that can simply slip into infinity, never to be replicated again.
So tangible and so absent.
I went over
to Susan Bright's the other evening and took advantage of her fast
internet access to explore the web site in depth. I was so deeply
moved. You all have done such a wonderful work, creating a sense
of her beauty, complexity and depth. It is wonderfully organized
and very friendly to non-web experts (that's me). Thank you, thank
you. I'm going to be looking through photos for some old ones: Chilean
reunion, radical curriculum-writing days, women's creative play
evenings. . . I miss her so!
I thought of
another section to add to the web page: funny stories. Like the
time I went to spend time with her in Arkansas over winter break.
We drove in her pick-up, drafty, no heat. I asked if she had a map
and she said no need, she knew all the exits. We drove and drove
and drove, it got dark, we got to a complex highway interchange
with toll booths and Susan said, "Hmmm, this doesn't look too
familiar. Maybe I missed a turn. . . " When we stopped at the
toll booth to check things out, we discovered we were entering Missouri!
Wrong state. Back track. Late, late night driving and lots of laughs.
I would love
to see you all again. Such a wonderful paradox to feel such warmth
in the community of friends simultaneous with the pangs of loss.
Till soon,
Glee
Glee
also sent this incredible invocation, which she read at the memorial
service.
Invoking
Susan
Susan Susanna
Lee Campbell Purvis Libana Solar!
HEAR US NOW!
Together, we
have chanted the many names of the Goddess
To Honor her abundant and overflowing Generosity.
Today, we say your many names
To Honor your rich and diverse life.
You have been
our Teacher,
Our Passionate Pioneer,
Our Comical Cajoler.
You have shown
us:
Courage
Commitment
Compassion
Creativity
Curiosity
Adventurousness
Fearlessness
Outrageousness!
And Generosity.
Because of You,
We Are Different.
We Are:
More Courageous
More Committed
More Compassionate
More Curious and Creative
More Fearless
More Adventurous
More Outrageous (hardly possible)!
And, We Will Be
Much, Much More Generous. . .
We Thank You
for your Life.
We Thank You for Being In Each of Us.
We Will Miss You.
May you Soar
Free
on the Waves of the Solar Winds,
Sweet, Sweet Friend!
This
note came from Suzanne Chesshire
I knew Susan
many years ago when she instigated a project called the Mill Fall
Co-op. Others can tell you about her political side, let me just
share with you a personal memory. Susan and I ran into each other
several times in the 90's. By then her girls were teens living with
their father in Washington D.C. Susan had tried to persuade one
of her daughters to leave D. C. and live with her. The daughter,
I think it was Camille, gave it a try, but found life in Austin
too alien and went back to her father. Susan was devastated and
since I had a new baby she told me, "Don't ever get a divorce,
it's just too heartbreaking". At that moment she reminded me
of Herman Hess's Siddhartha strong and capable in all areas but
defeated and made humble by love.
Rest in Peace
great lady,
Suzanne Chesshire
Spring, Tx.
The
ever-prolific Susan Bright has sent in another wonderful poem.
Curl
Long after
they said you were dead
your small fingers
curled around
mine
as I held on to
the truth of you
knowing
a soul leaves slowly
knowing
you suddenly grew
horribly sick
and had died
but your fingers
held onto me
for hours
as I stood
at your bedside
thinking
perhaps antibiotics
would clarify
the infection
but your eyes
had blasted
and there were
no sings of life
when they
listened to your
organs.
Your spirit
spoke to me for days,
it still does.
Such a friend
you have been to me,
close as a strong
wind
curling out of
the breath
of God -
the Woman God
you taught
me to see.
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