Hi.. my name is Cindy and I am a Myhrmaid... and I was a friend of Sara Conklin who died on St. Patrick's Day, 1997, after a long battle with cancer. I wanted to add to my homepage a tribute to Sara... for those who knew and loved her.. for those who have just heard about her but have shared in our grief... and for those who didn't know her at all. I wish you all could have experienced the pleasure of being a friend of Sara's... she was a very special and unique person. I am adding to this page tributes by others who knew Sara.. adding some photos... and including a guestbook for everyone to sign and view. So... look around... sign the guestbook... and tell your friends to visit... I want this to be a special place for the memory of Sara, my dear friend and fellow Myhrmaid. |
One last Sara story:
This was sent to me by Linda Moore on June 10, 1997:
Last week I had the good fortune to meet Sara Conklin's best friend, Jackie Kalbas. She told me a story I don't remember having heard after Sara died in March.
Sara was buried in her Star Trek uniform, complete with working communicator button. Jackie said that when they were leaving Sara's house for the last time, Sara made Jackie go back and get it. After Sara died, when Jackie when to the funeral director, he asked for the clothes to bury Sara in. She gave him the uniform and he smiled and said "we only get coffins here, we don't have any photon torpedoes!" Can you imagine decades from now, archaelologists digging up the MILITARY cemetary and finding everyone else in their military uniforms and Sara in her Star Trek outfit!!!!!!!
Sara's light burns on!
Be well, my friends, Linda...
There was a memorial service for Sara in Pt. Charlotte (where she lived and worked). Here are the details:
Memorial for Sara Conklin
Saturday, March 29, 1997
2 P.M.
Cultural Center of Pt. Charlotte
In lieu of flowers, Sara's designated charities are:
1) The Charlotte County Concert Band
21293 Coachman Ave.
Pt. Charlotte, FL 33952
(Sara loved playing in this band.)
2) Women in Military Memorial
Dept. 560, Washington, DC 20042-0560
** there's a web page with more information about this at:
http://www.womenconnect.com:80/bua2261.htm
It's located in the nation's capital at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National
Cemetery.
A lot of you out there may not know about the Myhrmaids. Who we are or why we call ourselves that. Well, it is a long story, but I will attempt to tell you how we came about.
I guess I should start with the beginning... "Beauty and the Beast"... the wonderful T.V. show that has inspired thousands of people to write poetry and stories... to pick up a paintbrush or pen and create artwork... to correspond with pen-pals from around the world... to do good in the name of the wonderful principles presented in the show... and to get together a couple of times a year for conventions that seem more like family reunions than gatherings of casual friends. Yes, we all initially fell in love with Vincent and Catherine's special bond, with the stuggles and triumphs of the Tunnel Dwellers and the thwarting of evil in the "Above" world. But, at least for me, that all takes a backseat to the friendships that I have developed over the last few years. Friendships that will last a lifetime. Friendships that enrich my life in so many little and big ways.
It was at the convention "Great Expectations" in Austin, Texas, in 1993 that my special group of friends and I realized that we needed an identity. Other groups of fans had local fanclubs that they belonged to, that they could identify with. But, since we were scattered all over the world (England, New Zealand, and various states from Florida to California) we didn't have an organized club that all of us belonged to. It was in Austin that we met Myhr, our beloved friend Jamie Murray. He was magical... a delight... we all fell in love with him. I took a close-up photo of Jamie as Myhr and he gave me his business card and asked me to send him a copy if it turned out. Well, the photo was pretty good (if I say so myself) and I sent a copy off to Jamie. That started a correspondence and friendship with Jamie that continues today. (He even used the photo for his promo shots!.. I was very flattered.) I sent copies of this photo to all my friends as well and they loved it too. I had a sudden inspiration, we could call ourselves the "Myhrmaids"!! I passed this by a few of my friends and they all loved it. We had an identity!! It was Sara Conklin who expanded the name even further (Sara was always so clever with words) to "The Myhrmaid Philosophical and Sewing Society" (don't you love it!!) By Tunnelcon III in Las Vegas the next year I had made up T-shirts for everyone that proclaimed "I am a Myhrmaid" (we now have a couple of "Myhrdudes" as well.. their shirts just say "Coooooooool!") Jamie was kind enough to sign each of our shirts with Myhr inspired statements... hilarious and slightly suggestive for the most part. We have continued to gather as the Myhrmaids at conventions ever since, both in the U.S. and in England. Of course, our grandest experience as a group was the "radio" play, "Vincent saves Catherine... One More Time!!", that we put on at "A Distant Shore" in Los Angeles. Once again it was Sara who was the driving force behind this. She wrote and directed the play, and whipped all of us stage shy thespians into shape in time to wow the gathering at the talent show on Saturday night. It was a wonderful success.. and we have Sara to thank for that. And, it was so much fun... something we will all treasure for the rest of our lives.
Now, we have lost our beloved Sara... Her presence will be missed at all the future
cons. She was always right in the middle of any of our activities. Helping to write and
illustrate our "unofficial" con 'zines... inspiring us to be silly by riding the
escalators backwards... hopping in with the rest of us and growling on command when we
took one of our infamous group bed shots (At the first Virginia con in 1996, in her
absence, she challenged us to do a group shower shot with Myhr... of course we did it..
giggling the whole time and having a great time!)... and having seemingly endless amounts
of goodies to eat at her and Pat's "Chamber of the Home Baked Cookies" room
parties. Awhile ago I had shared with Sara something that came across the internet to me
called "25 Geeky things to do in an elevator". She and I
were making plans to implement some of these things at the next con. I will pass the list
on... maybe it will inspire others to be silly in Sara's name at future cons. So, if in
the future you see someone with a "I am a Myhrmaid" T-shirt on at a con... give
them a hug... say "Hello"... and join us in celebrating the fact that we once
had in our midst a most special person named Sara Conklin... that we will miss.. but never
forget.
Our beloved Sara... Always to be remembered with this smile on her face... |
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Sara... the Tunnel Rat Catcher...(photo by Joani) |
| From Sara.. titled "My Date" |  |
With some of the Myhrmaids and Myhr at Tunnelcon III
Here is the link to a page where I have accumulated some of the tributes to Sara and for Sara by her friends and, even in some cases, by people who never met her.
Here is a guestbook for you to sign. Leave your thoughts and prayers for Sara's other friends to view. We would like to hear from you.
Sign
Sara's Guestbook 
View Sara's Guestbook
Sara and I had discussed using some of these items at the next "Beauty and the Beast" convention in Minneapolis. Some are not appropriate (I think you will know which ones!), but others could really liven up the frequent, but otherwise dull elevators rides at a con. Dare to be silly. Do it for Sara.
| 1. | Make race car noises when anyone gets on or off. |
| 2. | Blow your nose, then offer to show the contents of your Kleenex to other passengers. |
| 3. | Grimace painfully while smacking your forehead
and muttering: "Shut up, dammit, all of you just shut UP!" |
| 4. | On a long ride, sway from side to side at the natural frequency of the elevator. |
| 5. | Belch as loudly and deeply for as long as you can. Pause. Then repeat. |
| 6. | Crack open your briefcase or purse, peer inside and ask "Got enough air in there?" |
| 7. | Offer name tags to everyone getting on the elevator (wear your own upside-down). |
| 8. | Lean over to another passenger, smile broadly and whisper: "Noogie patrol coming!" |
| 9. | Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to call you Admiral. |
| 10. | Tai Chi exercises. |
| 11. | Yell out "Oh, not now, damn motion sickness!" from the back of extremely packed elevators. |
| 12. | Hand out religious tracts to each passenger. |
| 13. | Pass wind. Smile smugly and look proud about it. |
| 14. | Take bets with other passengers about how many coins you can fit up your nose. |
| 15. | Show other passengers a wound and ask if it looks infected. |
| 16. | Wear a puppet on your hand and talk to other passengers through it. |
| 17. | Attempt to start a sing-along. |
| 18. | Play the harmonica. |
| 19. | Shadow box. |
| 20. | Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope. |
| 21. | Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers that this is your "personal space" |
| 22. | Bring a chair along. |
| 23. | Take a bite of a sandwich and ask another passenger: "Wanna see wha in muh mouf?" |
| 24. | Announce in a demonic voice: "I must find a more suitable host body". |
| 25. | Wear "X-Ray Specs" and leer suggestively. |
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