(Image courtesy of Velveeta Biedermann)
Three years ago, a newbie to Second Life managed to buck up his courage enough to venture forth into The Shelter in Isabel sim, then, as now, one of the premier newbie-friendly locations in Second Life. One of the people who welcomed him and helped him feel right at home was one of the Shelter’s longtime volunteers, and one of the unofficial “moms” of the Shelter: Sumar Morgan.
Now, that newbie-that-once-was has learned, via Tateru Nino, that Sumar Morgan lost her battle with cancer a couple of weeks ago. And I am saddened.
I doubt I could say anything about Sumar that hasn’t been said already, by those far more eloquent than Yours Truly. From my perspective, when she and I found each other in the same room, she’d always greet me warmly, helping me feel included in the sometimes large and intimidating crowd of The Shelter. I’ve spoken before of the role of certain people’s writings (Tateru’s among them) in getting me into Second Life; Sumar’s role, among others, was no less critical in keeping me there through my awkward “noob” phase, until I found my place in the greater Grid.
In any event, I intend to stop by The Shelter soon and drop a nice chunk of Lindens in their donation box; I think Sumar would appreciate that. As long as The Shelter remains, fulfilling its role in helping newbies, Sumar will never truly be gone from Second Life. And I trust that, even now, she’s doing her best to assist newbies entering their Third Life.
“Nobody dies…they just leave here.” – Roland Kirk
Evans Avenue Exit 