I just wanted to report back on Mel’s memorial and on the donations, as promised.
We ended up raising $914.53 from nearly 30 people. I know all of this support meant so much to Mel’s family. We sent a really beautiful arrangement to the memorial (Here's a link to a pic of the flowers:
http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/9441/melsflowers.jpg ) and have already sent along the rest of the money for donation. The note we included with the flowers read: “To the Hsu family, Mel was so dear to us and she will not be forgotten. There is a light that never goes out, and wherever you are, we hope you're singing now. Your Morrissey friends near and far.”
Special thanks to Melissa for helping me to coordinate this, and to David for posting the donation link and collecting the money.
Bright and early on Saturday morning, a few of us who were close to Mel gathered along with her family for the interment ceremony. It was a small, short gathering and Mel’s remains were placed with those of her father, who died 39 years ago before Mel’s first birthday. I cannot emphasize how kind and lovely her family is. It was so apparent that it meant a great deal to them, especially to her mother, to have so many of her friends there, and that the support from those who couldn’t make it but who’d sent along such kind words and donations had also been so appreciated.
Later that day, we all met for the memorial. There were at least 20 of the Morrissey fan family there. A few of us had arranged for green carnations (a la Oscar Wilde) in Mel’s memory so we distributed those and visited in the parking lot before we headed in. Morrissey’s letter was printed in the ceremony program that was handed out at the door. The ceremony itself was beautiful. Jose Maldonado of the Sweet and Tender Hooligans did an amazing job (remarkably managing to hold back his tears) of providing the music throughout the ceremony, playing acoustic versions of There Is A Light, Lost, Moon River and Oh Well I’ll Never Learn. There was also a beautiful slideshow featuring many of our familiar faces with Mel’s, and Sing Your Life was played during that.
The eulogies were absolutely beautiful. Since Mel’s death, I’ve thought a lot about how my own family would make sense of the whole Morrissey thing if something were to happen to me. Like many of us, I think they just don’t understand it, and I’m certain they couldn’t have done such a graceful job of incorporating that part of my life into the service as Mel’s did. Her brother said some truly moving things about how they’d just assumed she was concert crazy, but seeing the outpouring of support has made them understand that Morrissey tour was like a family reunion for Mel, and those of us who traveled with her truly were her second family. As you can imagine, we all completely lost it when he said that. Mel’s old friend Vu, who she’d met back in Fresno through a Moz zine in the early 90s, also spoke, as did Adam who remembered meeting Mel via a hilarious note she’d included with her request to buy one of his own fanzines. Jose also offered some touching words about how much Mel’s approval had meant to him and the rest of the Sweet and Tender Hooligans, and that he looked forward to her watching their shows from a “balcony seat” rather than her old place in the front row.
There was a reception afterwards where we all caught up. I headed out after that but I know TONS of people met up at the Cat & Fiddle for drinks and were eventually kicked out of the main bar area and placed in a private room (we’re a raucous bunch, us Moz fans . . .)
Altogether, it was so lovely, and it meant so much to have so many of us present, both physically as well as emotionally though all of your kind words on solo or directly to her family.
