Lupine's Transition

About this time last year, I met an old friend while waiting outside the radiology department of our community hospital. It had been a long time since my last conversation with Lupine. He told me he had been having shortness of breath, had a chest x-ray earlier and was referred to another radiology department in nearby Medford. He promised to keep me posted.

Lupine had first contacted me late summer of 1998. He had planned a winter solstice event focused on a 24 hour labyrinth walk. Everything was coming together wonderfully - music, spoken word, altars. Pews would be removed from the sanctuary of the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship - an unheard of undertaking. There would be Native American ceremony as well as all the major religions. Artists, musicians, and spritual leaders had volunteered their talent to support their friend, Lupine. The only thing he didn't have was a labyrinth! He had heard that I had one, and the call was to inquire about using it. What an amazing thing. Of course I agreed. Yes, the solstice celebration was marvelous.

The following year we created a 72-hour Sacred Walk to 2000 as an alternative or complement to ordinary parties. It was the place of choice for many to be as Y2K made its appearance. Although Lupine lost interest in the project after this, others stepped in, making the annual Sacred Walk to the New Year a tradition still eagerly anticipated by thousands.

Back to last fall. Lupine did keep me posted. He had received a diagnosis of advanced mesothelioma. He could undergo rounds of chemo and radiation which might give him a few extra months. He chose not to do that. He was told to do what he loved to do, and do it soon, for his life expectancy was three to six months. He laughed when the doc told him that - saying "you don't know me! That's the way I live!" And that is exactly the way he lived. In December, as we dedicated the Sacred Walk to 2006 to him, he seemed weak and fragile, but very alive. Over the next 9 months, he continued his remarkable journey.

Lupine died Saturday, September 16, at home with friends and family. On Sunday, friends and family gathered to share memories and stories in the back yard, while Lupine's body lay in the living room. All of us learned things about him we didn't know before! Today, friends and family buried him on a hillside overlooking the valley, in a box he designed, in a grave he dug (with help from friends), under a screen he designed (to prevent animals from digging up his body) and we decorated with flowers and ribbons. He had carved the wooden "headstone" using a design he selected from a library search, and adding his name and the years 1938-2006. We followed a ceremonial plan he provided, then shared a catered meal and more conversation about this remarkable man and his remarkable,conscious life and death. We received a CD recording of his Ethical Will - or as he put it, "This I Believe," recorded on Sept 12 and 13, three days before he died. On a future entry, perhaps I'll tell you what he said.

Lupine was a gardener. And he lived his life as Gardener. He, some friends and his grandchildren dug his grave early this summer. Over the hot summer, in that high, exposed place with no irrigation, a millet plant seeded itself and grew on the pile of dirt. After the final shovel of dirt was placed on the gravesite, the millet plant was transplanted to the grave. A fitting tribute to you, Lupine! - Elizabeth Austin