linden_jay

When I was doing theatre, there was a set of twins who were two years below me. In their first year, I worked a show with me, and they just utterly impressed me, all the way through. They were smart, they were committed, they were dedicated. I worked three shows with the pair of them that year, and I told them that the next year, when I got to stage manage my own show, I wanted them on the team as ASM's--assistant stage managers.

This was more or less unheard of, since second year students did get to ASM, but they weren't plucked out of first year to do it. They were worth it. One of them was a genius when it came to lighting and organization... excellent at keeping me on track. The other--Ali--was a real stage manager in the making... good with actors, good with crew, a dream to work with.

Ali just died of a heart attack. She was twenty-six. Apparently a virus attacked her heart, and she suffered a series of heart attacks, and they lost her.

I'll be going to the service next weekend. And at some point, I'll probably let myself grieve, but right now I'm too mad. Twenty-six year olds don't die of heart attacks. Thirty year olds don't die of pneumonia. Except that they do.

The fates? Just made my list.