Paper Crane Memorial of Love for Simon

[Miss Whitney]

"What's with the cranes?", you may ask.



My best friend and boyfriend of over 6 years, Simon, was rushed to the hospital with chest pains on October 2, 2011. He had had an unexpected cardiac event stemming from a genetic bone disease he shares with his family. The emergency open-heart surgery was successful, but as myself and his family became aware that he may never wake from a coma, we asked friends and family to support us by folding cranes; An old Japanese legend says that if 1,000 cranes are folded, the gods will grant you a wish. You can guess what we were hoping for. We had over 1,000 cranes, but we were not granted our wish. My beloved Simon died on October 14, 2011. He was 34.



Although people continue to fold cranes, the bulk of them were entrusted to me. Fighting my urge (fueled by rage and despair) to burn them to ashes, I worked with my mom to find a safe, respectful, and beautiful way to honor Simon and the support everyone gave us during those terrible weeks. We restrung every crane, after hunting for weeks for the appropriate materials to make what we were envisioning a reality.



Each crane was selected for its specific string - some strings are themed and some are random. Each crane is separated by a bead, and each string has a weight at the bottom. The light in the middle is a strand of LED x-mas lights doubled over itself a few times and wired together. The case is 5 feet tall by about 1.5 feet wide and deep. There are 598 paper cranes in the case, and one ceramic one (a gift to me from Simon's sister).



Several strands of cranes were sent to Simon's parents for a memorial they held, and I took 10 with me to work, each stuck over an LED x-mas light which now hangs in my cubicle. Unless someone comes up with something else to do with the remaining cranes, they will be ceremoniously burned at a beach fire this summer.



Thank you for reading. I hope you think it's as beautiful as I do.

[Antidigger]

That is a beautiful memorial.

[kathrynsss]

This is just stunning, what a labour of love and truly beautiful.

[Jinjeet Phoenix]

I'm speechless and very moved by your story. This is indeed an incredible memorial to a special person by special people. It is so very special and meaningful and very very beautiful in its own right. My heart goes out to you. Thank you so very much for sharing the story behind this wonderful piece of art as well as sharing this thing of beauty.

[DawnsTrees]

The crane memorial is truly beautiful. Even without knowing it's story, I would have thought it beautiful, but it takes on a truly special meaning because of the love and loss that was involved. I am so sorry for your loss.

[smallhold]

Dear MW, my condolences with your loss. The cranes are a beautiful tribute to your dear Simon.
All the strength.

[LadybugsAndBumblebees]

What a lovely memorial, and I am so sorry for your loss.

[Homerof2]

A very sad and moving story to go along with a beautiful piece of art.  Sorry you had to go through this but what a wonderful way to remember Simon.

[tiamatfire]

I am so sorry for your loss, and that is a beautiful BEAUTIFUL memorial for him.  I can't imagine a better way to display all the love everyone had for him.  I hope it brings you some comfort *hug*

[bunny1kenobi]

I think this is a beautiful way to remember him and how many lives he touched for good.  Thank you for sharing your story.  I'm sorry for your loss.