a ghost of someone's tragedy

Yesterday, the news spread that Ursula K. LeGuin had passed away. This knocked me significantly sideways, to the point where it seems any little thing is making me tear up, so...I figure it's a good time to finally get this entry out.

There was a fundraising ball for Master Kaos and Cherub Spectre, which I entirely missed attending (due to illness) and covering (because I've become a flake where timely blogging is concerned). Here are the notices leading up to that event.

Sent on the tenth of January:

There's been a lot of questions stirring about whether or not we are going to do anything in-world for MK and Cherub and the answer is yes. Meryet and I have been coordinating an event for Sunday at 5pm SLT. We will be having a formal gala to raise as many lindens as we can to turn into real money for them. We will be setting up a special location above the Crowbar for the party and we hope you all can join us. In the meantime there are other ways you can donate, any amount large or small will make a difference:

https://www.gofundme.com/sandershomefamilyfire

Then, on the eleventh of January:

Just a reminder that we will be having a formal gala on Sunday night to raise money for MK and Cherub. If anyone would like to donate items to sell during the night, that would greatly be appreciated. We are trying to raise as much money as we possibly can. Thank you all for your support so far. Love to you all.

And on the twelfth:

It's with a heavy heart that I share this news... As if the fire destroying their home last weekend wasn't bad enough, Cherub's real life daughter and MK's step-daughter Amber passed away unexpectedly last night due to a heroin overdose. She was 21 years old and had been living with her boyfriend. I had the honor of knowing her for several years in her teens, she was a well of compassion and love for everyone and everything. Her light went out far too soon; she will be missed...

Like their year didn't start off hip-deep in suck with the fire. Man...

Then, on the thirteenth:

Our Fundraising Gala for MK and Cherub will be tomorrow night at 5pm SLT. Please see the attached notecard for details and for the landmark. We hope to see you all there.

You are cordially invited to a Formal Gala this Sunday evening, January 14th at 5pm SLT in honor of Master Kaos and Cherub Spectre.

This gala will be a fundraising event for these two wonderful people who have endured unimaginable tragedies over the last couple of weeks.

First they endured a devastating fire in their home on January 7th. Luckily, they were all able to get out of the apartment and no one was harmed. However, due to fire, smoke and water damage, they have lost almost everything.

A second catastrophe has struck their family, with the untimely passing of their daughter on January 11th, taken from them unexpectedly at the young age of 21.

This gala has been arranged so that their SL friends and family can help contribute to help his family in the coming weeks for immediate and long-term necessities, including whatever losses arise out of the damage to their property and generally whatever unpredictable expenses may be involved in getting their life back together. And to also help with their daughters funeral expenses. Any assistance that you are willing to give is very much appreciated.

There will be several ways you can donate, you can donate lindens, we will also have items for sale, and there will also be a direct link to their GoFundMe page where you can donate US dollars as well. Whatever you can afford to give will be greatly appreciated.

Please join us Sunday evening for this worthy event and support our friends. This is a formal event. Entertainment will be provided by DJ's Khanada Rio and Iniry Vaher.

And that's where we stand as of now. The fundraising page is still up; they're seeking $15,000 to replace what was lost in the fire (which--considering they lost practically all that they owned is pretty reasonable), and as of this writing, they're a bit less than halfway there at $6,854.

So my usual applies here, too--give what you can, spread the word if you can't. Feel free to spread it on Twitter and Facebook from the GoFundMe page, too--there are links designed to help with that.

And for those that favor charities beyond America's direct shores, I've added six new logo links to the sidebar, all specifically addressing the catastrophe that Puerto Rico is still struggling to reverse. Look them over if you like, give if you can.