Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Thoughts welcome on the passing of our dear friend and mentor, Pamela Blockey-O'Brien
I have been contemplating thoughts about Pamela and how much she influenced me to try and reach out for something that was greater than myself.Without her, we would have never made it across the the pond to Europe and to our goal. She was critical and instrumental to the idea of the journey and inspired me to say "Yes we can" before it was the statement that we hear so much of today. I will miss her and it was only recently that I reconnected to her and unfortunately missed many opportunities to hear more of her thoughts. I understand her last few years were quite a struggle due to her health matters but that never stopped her from speaking out the best she knew how, with force and conviction and with an all too generous heart. I will miss her and she will remain an inspiration to me for the end of my days. Rest well dear Pamela.
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Adjusted, here's what I sent to our UU congregation list today.
Dear friends,
This morning I expressed sadness at Pamela Blockey O'brien's death. Many hearts, including mine, were with her. She fought for thirty years as a "fiery anti-nuclear activist"(Nuclear Watch South), in the spirit of Linus Pauling, for the unknown -- but real -- human beings exposed to radiation. She fought as a "dogged document hound" (Confronting Nuclear Power in Georgia). Invigorating local chapters of the national religious pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation, she helped build networks of love, especially via organizing and coordinating long-distance peace walks (twelve hours daily for months). In her final years dependent on an oxygen tank, I think she still was in near-daily phone contact with local and national politicians.
So she was an activist. AND she was a down-to-earth motherly friend -- "passing of our dear friend" headlined California-to-Moscow "Walk of the People" leader's e-mail last week. Edie's special cane and fanny-packed med-list were Pamela's practical gifts, as I mentioned to you.
Pamela was rare. Idealists often fail in personal relatiionships (the Port Huron leaders, John Reed). Local healers often don't have major energy after healing the "bleeding bodies on the riverbank" (Mother Teresa; also our congregation, carrying out our mission statement with noble local work helping feed the hungry, supporting latchkey kids and the county AIDS group, but -- while giving money to UUSC for India and Africa, lacking energy to staff a Social Action table during refreshment time and disappointing Ray Sobel on universal health insurance and disappointing me on U.N. issues). So less of our energy involves going upstream to see what's happening up there whence hurt bodies are floating down.
There are two wings to social action -- the Good Samaritan's pulling the neighbor from the ditch, putting a warm arm around and feeding the neighbor, AND working politically for structural social changes. Pamela, like Albert Schweitzer and John Gofman and Studs Terksl) flew on two wings, both strong.
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