My "Six Degrees of Separation" led to sad news...

Once upon a time, I wrote little stories (unpaid) for hometalk (and also for this blog) about whimsical holiday-themed figurines. These were designed by an array of artisans including Patience Brewster, Lori Mitchell, Bethany Lowe and Byer's Choice. Although I no longer do this (except on rare occasion) I still get emails about new and old figurines as well as information re those who create them.

The other day I received a notification that the MacKenzie-Childs company is now producing Halloween themed figurines and home decor. Pictures of their works can be seen in the photo-ops atop this entry. I don't (nor can I afford) anything created by MacKenzie-Childs but their name is familiar with me for other reasons.

Back in 2010 when the Apple Store on NYC's UWS was offering one-to-one training as well as time slots for customers/clients to work on "personal projects," I met Victoria MacKenzie Childs, as like yours truly, she took advantage of these services that Apple was offering.

At that time, she and her husband had closed certain locations of their MacKenzie-Childs' stores and were were involved in many business endeavors (under the name Victoria and Richard Emprises) as to use their quote, they were "always on the move;'" and I published a couple of entries about their projects here on Blogger during that year (2011).

Be that as it may, I was also acquainted with the couple because a woman (JL) who lives in the building directly west of me attended their church and I spoke with them after I attended a service there.

In any event, all of this was nearly ten years ago and I had lost touch with Victoria MacKenzie-Childs when she and her husband relocated. Therefore when her name resurfaced in the email I received re new figurines, I checked out her social media venues and noticed that she and JL are friends on Facebook.

It is from there that I saw that JL was FB friends with someone (PS) I had known for many years and who was also a member of my FB community.

And yes, you read that ("was also a member of my FB community") correctly, for when I went to PS's page I saw the notification (a copy is posted below) that PS has died but I do not know my details which I hope to find out in the coming days.

This is certainly a hard way to learn someone has passed away, but it's probably a better way of finding out tragic news than other options and it seems there will be a way to reach out to her surviving sister whom I met many years ago.
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On another subject, I probably should not assume all readers will know what I mean by "Six Degrees of Separation" in my title. Info can be found by clicking here.

ADDENDUM:

I'm thankful to say that I found Pamela's obituary and am also that I'm now in correspondence with her sister. Moreover, I've learned when Pamela was born in "the #1 song was by Kitty Kallen 'Little Things Mean A Lot' (and) Pamela reminds us to enjoy the 'little things' in life, because one day, looking back, we will realize they were actually the big things all along."

As some of you may know, I'm also a big advocate for appreciating the little things, as evidenced by my appreciation for members of the wildlife community who visit my garden and whom I encounter when in parks as well as beaches. Moreover, I began sending out my book project, "Appreciating The Little Things" to publishers (such as Stiedl) since early fall before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted (or postponed) my endeavor.

Perhaps my "6 Degrees of Separation" led to the idea that the aforementioned book project can now possibly be dedicated to Pamela's legacy re appreciating little things.

For now, you can read my tribute to Pamela S. Slette, by clicking here.