Regarding Nelson Jenkins (Neonpotato)

Inhabitants,

I was informed today that our friend Nelson passed away this Saturday evening past.
His heart "Lost the Game" in his sleep... At least he was able to take his dreams with him.

He was comedic, generous, a dedicated fellow, artistically gifted, and wonderfully insightful... He was an intriguing conversationalist, a morris dancer, and damned good at FOTOSHAP.

And now, he will be able to do all those things in whatever afterlife neonpotatoes go to. Only now he will have Photoshop CS3, and plenty of dance partners. Granted, all of his friends won't be there, so it'll likely be a bit dull, but he's resourceful enough to manage.

On that note, if you get an offer to collaborate on a surreal art project from Nelson in the future, don't freak out, just respond quickly.

But in all seriousness, I will miss Nelson greatly, not only for his vast contributions to The Habitation project, but also for my short, yet entrancing friendship with him, and I offer my regards to those who knew him outside of the web, and who are now coping with his absence on a level I can only sympathize with.

Those collaborations on the site involving Neonpotato will continue until finished, and be forever left open for others to view as a form of digital open casket, he spent a lot of time with collaborative artwork not only here, but on Exquisite Corpses as well, and it is only fitting that those things remain as tribute...

If anyone has the enthusiasm necessary to do so, I would very much like to see my poetry corpse project finished, as, to my knowledge, it is the last collaboration Nelson Jenkins ever participated in, fitting, as the subject is "The End of the World"...

If you have any further words to dedicate to Nelson, leave them here so that his friends here might collect them. We may not be able to attend his parting in person, but as pure extensions of ourselves, our words will serve as adequate surrogate...

I like to imagine that he is watching me type this and contemplating how to witfully turn it against me.

Do it sucker, and I'll ban you so fast your discorpreal head will spin.

Much love, of the surreal sort,
Keegan Ryan Gilmore

Dance
Rest in Peace

May he rest in peace.

WHAT??? Neonpotato has passed away? I...It's rather hard to believe. I'll miss that radioactive spud.

I still can't believe it.

Farewell, Nelson, farewell.

I leave this poem here. It is a poem of both sadness and hope.
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"Renew" (sep 25, 2008)

May you sing until the sunset of your heart.
Oh to go down happy into the soft grassy ground,
whispering like wind.

Whisper for the sunrise of your being.

Also, I wanted to share this poem as well in memory of Nelson. It just seems to fit. I wrote this one quite awhile ago. It is inspired by the book Watership Down.
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"Zorn: A Rabbit's Mourning" (by Asiaticfox)

Zorn, o zorn!
My brother's stamping is no longer heard.
Fu Inlé, I cry!
How can I sleep in the gentle
warmth of the great burrow,
when my brother has stopped running
this very eve?

As the crimson sunset bloodied the sky,
it marked the sunset of his life.
This night is not a time for sleeping,
but a time for great sorrow!

Everyone, gather round!
Cry out loud and stamp the ground!
Sing loud with tears,
For our brother has stopped running
this very eve.

Apt:
~~~~~

"Fare you well, my honey
Fare you well, my only true one
All the birds that were singing
Are flown, except you alone

Gonna leave this brokedown palace
On my hands and my knees, I will roll, roll, roll
Make myself a bed by the waterside
In my time, in my time, I will roll, roll, roll

In a bed, in a bed
By the waterside I will lay my head
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

River gonna take me, sing me sweet and sleepy
Sing me sweet and sleepy all the way back home
It's a far gone lullaby sung many years ago
Mama, Mama, many worlds I've come since I first left home

Going home, going home
By the waterside I will rest my bones
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Going to plant a weeping willow
On the bank's green edge it will grow, grow, grow
Singing a lullaby beside the water
Lovers come and go, the river will roll, roll, roll

Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul"

~Robert Hunter, The Grateful Dead

An old poem, I have no idea where it's from, or who it's by, but I certainly like the idea it conveys.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am the thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you waken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of gentle birds in circling flight,
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry -
I am not there, I did not die.


May you be forever in our hearts and minds, Nelson, and never forgotten.
Leah x

Someone elsewhere found this. I'm copying it here.

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Nelson Jenkins, 19, a Coleg Llandrillo student from Valley Road, Llanfairfechan, died of an overwhelming meningitis infection on Saturday night.

Nelson’s mother Judith told the North Wales Weekly News: "The infection struck incredibly quickly. We’d had a fantastic day at Conwy Food Festival. He had no idea what was going to happen, he just died in his sleep that night. It was a tragic, short way for a young man with a life so full to go.

"Nelson was a great chemist and won a prize last year in a schools analyst competition for his work. Chemistry was an aspect of his life he really loved and he was a brilliant thinker. He was also involved with morris dancing and was a great cook.

"Nelson was always late for everything and the laziest person you could meet! He was a one-off who was growing into a very nice young man."

His father Tom said how much Nelson cared for his family: "He has one sister, Hazel, aged just five months, and four brothers – Samuel, six, Peter, three, Philip, 17, and Murray, 13 – who he loved very much. Everyone, including his stepmother Rowan, is missing him dreadfully.

"He had complained of feeling a little unwell in the day but didn’t think it was anything to worry about. After watching a film with his brother, he went to sleep and just never woke up.

"Nelson had a huge number of friends and was such a gentle guy. He was generally very fit and was planning a trip to Canada.

"Nelson made a big impression on people and was a very intelligent, articulate young man destined to go on and reach his potential."

Tom has opened a tribute fund for Nelson with the Meningitis Trust. Nelson’s life will be celebrated at Ysgol Pant-yr-Rhedyn on Saturday at 2pm followed by refreshments at the Church Institute.

Christine Hughes from Meningitis Trust said: "We were saddened to hear another young life has been lost to meningitis. It is vital people are aware of the signs and symptoms which can easily be mistaken for flu, and include fever, headache, stiff neck, dislike of bright light, drowsiness, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, confusion and in some cases a rash that does not fade under pressure."

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2008/10/30/llanfairfechan-teenager-struck-by-meningitis-55243-22146150/

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If you are able, please donate to the meningitis trust to help this from happening again.

I had a photocopy of that page of the paper made.
And I'm trying to get permission to do a collecting walkaround in our college, to raise money for the Meningitis Trust.
Also, the service was on the 1st of the month (last Saturday), and it was a lovely humanist service, I think (Especially seeing the songs they played!)
So yeah, if you can, then definately try and raise some money for the Meningitis Trust, let's not have this happen to someone else we love.
x