Summer News Brief

Naturally Caring TLC for Care Givers Workshop #4 is coming up on Wednesday, July 18^th from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Joe Montoya Senior & Community Center. “Identifying Family Based Strengths and Healing for Challenges” will be offered by Meg Leander. During this FREE workshop you will learn the importance of and strategies for self-care while caring for others. Call 928-525-2910 to pre-register or for more information.

The Crow’s Nest will return on Wednesday, August 1^st from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Helping individuals and families chart a course through times of transition, this monthly discussion and support group offers a safe space to discuss strengths and challenges, swap resources for optimal quality of life and improve communication of needs. Facilitated by Meg Leander; offered freely.

Hold the Date for Further Shore’s 7^th annual fund raiser and memorial gala. “That’s Life – A Bone Dance” will be held on Saturday, October 27^th from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. at the Radisson Woodlands Hotel in Flagstaff. This is a reservation only event. Contact us by August 1^st if your business would like to sponsor the event or if you wish to serve as a Table Captain.

On Saturday July 21, 2012 former TLC Client, Kat Seekatz will participate in the "Relay for Life", a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. This event is staged in many cities across the country. During the event, lighted luminarias are placed along the walking path dedicated to loved ones who had cancer. Participants will walk around a designated track anytime between 6 p.m. on the 21^st of July and 6 a.m. on the 22^nd. Kat hopes to walk two shifts, one at sunset and one at dawn in honor of VTara Ruscher. The event will take place at the Williams Rec Center. If you wish to support her walk, contact her at kat@cclearwater.com for details.

In Loving Memory of VTara

In Loving Memory of VTara
On Father’s Day, June 17^th our beloved TLC Client and friend, Victoria (VTara) Ruscher passed into spirit. Born on March 1, 1956 in Omaha, NE and moved to Flagstaff in 1995, VTara was trained as a rebirther, Flower of Life facilitator and Reiki Master. As an artist she worked with drawing, painting, jewelry and fabric arts. Her family enjoyed camping and traveling to beautiful natural places in the desert Southwest, Pacific North, Mexico and Germany. A graduate of the Flagstaff Leadership Program, she was an active volunteer in a variety of community action and service groups. She has been a client with Further Shore since January of 2008 when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Her physical presence is dearly missed, the memories we shared will sustain us, and her radiance will continue to inspire and teach us.

VTara’s Memorial and Celebration of Life

Date: Saturday, July 7^th

Time: Gathering at 5:00 p.m. and Ceremony from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Place: The Nordic Center – about 15 miles north of Flagstaff on Highway 180 at mile marker 232 (on the east side of the road).

What to bring and social time: Feel free to bring your own snack or picnic if you come at 5:00 p.m. as the ceremony time runs through the dinner hour. There are some folding chairs available at the Nordic, but bring a folding chair if you wish. After the ceremony, Chuck’s camper will be set up in National Forest nearby (FR 794 just south of the Nordic at mile marker 231 on the east side of the road and about 1 mile back; he will post signs and maps will be available after the ceremony). He welcomes all to join him camping overnight or to visit camp for a while that night or Sunday a.m.. Please bring whatever you may need (camping gear, food, beverages).

Obituary: will appear in the Arizona Daily Sun tomorrow (both in the paper and online -- http://azdailysun.com/)

In lieu of flowers the family request donations be made to Further Shore, Inc. P. O. Box 23518; Flagstaff, AZ  86002

RSVP or Questions:  info@furthershore.org

When Great Trees Fall
Maya Angelou

When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shudder,
lions hunker down in tall grasses,
and even elephants lumber after safety.

When great trees fall in forests,
small things recoil into silence,
their senses eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die, the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile. We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly, see with a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened,
examines, gnaws on kind words
unsaid, promised walks never taken.

Great souls die and our reality, bound to
them, takes leave of us.
Our souls, dependent upon their
nurture, now shrink, wizened.
Our minds, formed and informed by their
radiance, fall away.
We are not so much maddened
as reduced to the unutterable ignorance
of dark, cold caves.

And when great souls die, after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always irregularly.  Spaces fill
with a kind of soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed.  They existed.
We can be.  Be and be better.  For they existed.