My youngest sister Marianne is a way cool person. I wrote this tribute to her early last November.

A Tribute to the Iron-Maid as She Prepares

For Yet Another Singular Act of Love

and Remembrance; Another RiverRun

Of course it should have been obvious when you were but three,

and could shimmy up the door wells with your hands and feet,

we, all of us, Mark, Gay, and John, too, of course. could and did

although you were so much younger than us all, but it fazed you not.

Yet, if not the shimmying, then when you climbed the gymnasium rope

to the top of the roof, bare-handed in kindergarten

then, surely, we ought, all of us, to have known

that one day you would BE a world-class athlete

and take it upon yourself to endure the many long, many lonely hours

(even with friends to escort you along the way,

(it is still many long, and many lonely hours

(that 120-mile, or is it even slightly longer?

(that trip, that journey, that pilgrimage, that fund-raising act of remembrance

(of our too soon gone but n'ere forgotten beloved Freré Jacques

(that RiverRun, RiverCrew, RiverRide along the Charles

(that you so faithfully perform, year-in and year-out

(that act of remembrance, that act of dedication

(that act of love, that act of purification

(that act of single-minded dedication

(that act of perfection, yes that one,

(that lonely run, that lonely crew, that lonely ride

(that forever and ever binds and bonds you

(unto he to whom you, virtually alone,

(ministered in his hours of sickness and recovery

(and eventually his final minutes of life

(when he told you he was afraid

(and you finally thought to ask. “what are you afraid of, John?”

(and he told you, the most blessed and beautiful of words

(that I will have carved upon the marker of the place in Livingston, Iowa

(where I ask you now, you as witness, that my ashes be scattered,

(to be returned to the universe, like dust in the wind;

(“I am afraid they will never know how much I loved them.”)

So, how exactly do you prepare for this ritual RunCrewRide?

It can't be year-round, like it ought to be, or even would be

If you had but the time for year-round training.

You would, of course, train year-round, and probably

Crew an international crewing contest or two,

But you are at the pinnacle now of your craft,

Of your art, of your administrative talents and gifts,

And, what with the gardening (for yourself- what a lovely gift you give),

and the cooking for your beloved and oh so many dear close friends,

well, with the 24 hours in a day serving to limit rather severely

that which you can accomplish from one sun-up to the next,

well, something's got to give, and thus, for you,

it clearly must be the rigorous daily athletic training you once

engaged, delighted, meditated, and reveled in.

Ah, so sadly, in one sense, and so grandly in another sense,

Life intervenes, and we must make limiting choices.

And our choices define us, so that when we make conscious choices,

we are assured that we have made the right ones

provided (as always is provisional) our intentions are good

and our motives are (reasonably) pure.

Will you have a day of glorious sunshine?

For this, for you, I shall pray.

Or will it be gray, cloudy, foggy, wet and chilled?

That too, I know, you can handle, and it will be even

more spiritual, and more fulfilling, the completeness of

that RiverRun that you have so faithfully fulfilled

All these years, in loving memory,

As a tribute to Freré Jacques,

In loving living tribute to we, your most ardent of supporters

Who so often have disappointed you, and not given you the fullness of credit

For your single-mindedness, grit and determination

For your strength of character and your strength of will

And your inner strength, yeah, even your Faith,

for Your God doth watch over you, and sends His angels

To guard and guide you along the RiverRun

And thus you doth please the Lord, and give him glory praise and honor,

And leave us not merely slightly awestruck

but, almost dumbfounded, by you, and what you have shown us

We too might be able to do were we but to take our love,

too 'oft hidden under a bushel, and let it shine,

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine,

Let your love shine down on we.

We are with you, Iron-Maid, so fair, so brilliant, so soft, so gentle,

so kind, so forgiving, so understanding, so compassionate,

so empathetic, so loving, so loving, sow loving

sow loving, sow loving, like Johnny Appleseed

Planting apple trees along his way,

Sow your Loving,

Sow your Joy,

Sow your Caring,

Sow your Music,

Sow your Craft,

Sew your Memories

Fore and aft,

From near to afar

And at all points in between

You, our Iron-Maid, you our Angel

You, the RiverRun Queen.

As always,

with Love to you,

and ALL You LOVE,

Freré Marcos

This, day the first,

November, 2011.

In celebration of your run;

In celebration of your birth;

In celebration of knowing you on earth.