| Subject: A Fond Farewell to Lockie....My experience... |
Author:
Synergy Blaize
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Date Posted: Sun, Nov 10 2002, 10:25pm
Today, Trent & I returned from a few days away in Brisbane.
There we met up with Solarus/Nighthawk & Astro/Vain Centauri to bid Farewell to our dear friend & guild mate, Lockie.
For me this past week has been a truly life-changing experience for me & I feel compelled to attempt to share some of that with you.
Last Friday, when Shawna icq’d me to ever so gently tell me that Lockie had been taken from us, my worlds were shattered; both UO & in real life. For a period of time, my real world stood still, as I tried to take in what she had told me, it was incomprehensible. & Then my tears began to flow. I had so many emotions swirling about inside, disbelief, anger and such deep sorrow, over a friend who I had never met. A friend I had never seen a picture of! But Lockie was a friend as important & as special to me as any real world friend can be. The pain of knowing he would not be a part of my worlds anymore was immeasurable.
Slowly the sad news became known around Darkstone & throughout the realm. A wave of sadness swept through the UO community, the depth of which was astounding.
Lockie had impacted so many ppl, in so many different ways in his time in the realm. Many of his UO friends spoke to me of his passion for role-playing, about his caring & giving nature, of his steadfast loyalty to his friends, his wicked sense of humour, his dogged determination to get a job done & of his integrity. He was a truly remarkable individual in this online realm. I was soon to find out he had these qualities & more, in his real life.
Trent & I had decided to join Solarus & Astro in Brisbane. So after some hastily made travel arrangements & organising of real life necessities, within days we were there. None of us wanted to intrude on this intensely personal occasion, but we truly felt we needed to be there, to bid a fond Farewell to our friend.
Solarus met Trent & I at Brisbane airport.
This in itself was a truly incredible experience, as it was the first time we had met in real life. However, as strange as it may seem, it was like meeting an old friend. We spent the next few hours with Sol & Astro (days actually) talking about Lockie & the times we shared with him in UO.
The saddest day dawns…
Lockie was in the Air force in real life & thusly he was afforded a Military Funeral.
I truly know Lockie would have liked that. Over 200 people were there.
With heavy hearts, we stood silently at the back of the Chapel. We carried with us the thoughts of all those who knew Lockie in his online realm of UO.
We heard readings from those he knew him; family, friends & colleagues. They spoke about Lockie’s real life. Not surprisingly, we learned that Lockie’s online qualities were mirrored in his real life. He was loved & respected by all who got to know him, for many of the same reasons his online friends had cited. Lockie truly was a genuine guy. He was one of a kind.
As I said earlier, those of us from Darkstone, did not want to intrude on this personal occasion, we just wanted to be there. After the service, I spoke to Lockie’s sister-in-law, whom I had spoken to briefly on icq during the week. I asked her to pass on the heartfelt thoughts of his online friends to Lockie’s wife Tracy. Shortly thereafter, Tracy made her way over to us. I did my best to remain composed, but all I could do was hug her & tell her that we, his online friends, felt so very deeply for her. It seemed to be of comfort to her that we were there, as she acknowledged that UO & its inhabitants were a big part of his life. My heart went out to this young beautiful woman. Her courage was inspiring.
We managed to catch up with Finwe & Anubis. Finwe had been of great help in relaying messages to many others & me during the week. For that I will be eternally grateful.
We then made our way to Lockie’s Wake, which was held on the Air Base where he had worked. The Bar at the Outdoor eating area had a sign above it. The sign read "Matt Martins Bar", a very touching gesture, indeed.
We, the ppl of Darkstone, made our way to a corner. Once again, we didn’t want to intrude. However, one by one, we soon were to meet all of Lockie & Tracy’s families. But we didn’t just meet them; they wholeheartedly embraced us. Here we were, unknown ppl, from an unknown world. I was completely overwhelmed by their acceptance of us. It truly was a most humbling experience for me.
During the afternoon, I spent a great deal of time talking to Lockie’s families. I expressed to each of them how much we valued his friendship & how far reaching his loss was in the online community. I can’t begin to tell you how incredible these ppl were.
Lockie’s wife Tracy is an amazing woman. It is easy to see why he loved her so much and I will always be thankful I had the chance to meet & talk with her. She told me how he often spoke of UO & those he played with. She knew UO was his passion & she accepted that. She is a truly unique woman & in talking with her & other folk there, I know she has the courage & fortitude to move forward with her life, but it will take time. She has a strong network of family & friends she can count on when the road is rough and of course she will find solace in the company of their treasured puppies, Malakai & Skye.
I can’t find the right words to express the depth of the feeling I experienced on that day. I will always have very fond memories of talking to his Grandma & both his Father & Father-in-law. Somehow, I felt that our presence there seemed to make Lockie’s online life (& the time he spent in UO) a little more worthwhile to them, a little more real perhaps, as we represented all of the ‘real’ people he spent his time with. His family now knew that Lockie’s life had touched so many people, both near & far away.
This past week has been quite an experience for me, with many lessons learned along the way about the depth of human kindness & compassion. I will be a better person, for having had the privilege to know Lockie and to be granted this opportunity to meet his family & the lovely Tracy. I will carry with me & treasure these memories with me forever.
Synergy Blaize
(aka Anne-Marie)
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