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Desert Lady Diaries


Dec 11, 2018

MELANIE BUCK, In Memorium

Photo credit: Freequency Media
LATE NOVEMBER, 2017 ~ FURSTWURLD, Joshua Tree, CA
 
On this beautiful fall day, a group of loving, talented Morongo Basin locals met at a local community gathering place to talk to Janelle from Freequency Media and be part of her new project. Melanie is second from the back, with the short brown hair.
 
After a bit of conversation about what brought some of us to Joshua Tree and the spiritual allure of this place, Janelle and her production team set up a meditation area, Melanie sat behind me and Gabriella Nagy led us in a deep, heart-centered yoga and meditation.
 
As we proceeded through the meditation, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something so very special about this moment. Intuition was telling me to remember it, implant it in my brain. The sunshine, the mountains, the feel of the desert  earth under me and each individual beautiful soul that was there on that rug - all of us vibrating together.
 
The scene was incredibly alive, as you see in the photo above. It was warm under the shining fall day, our hearts were aglow with Gabriella lovingly guiding us through the chanting and yoga. The love people have for one another here was so very evident and I felt it.
 
When the session was over and everyone was gathering their things, Janelle asked me to stay for a brief interview. While waiting for her crew to come around, still holding on to that feeling, I burst into tears.  Janelle asked why I was crying and I explained the feeling I had, that there was something extremely special about this moment that I was being called to hold on to it. We continued to talk, then helped pack things up and everyone went their own ways. It was the last time I saw Melanie.
 
That was Friday ~ on Monday, over morning coffee, I opened my laptop, logged on to Facebook, confronted with messages I never expected to see.
 
Something happened to Melanie Buck on Sunday.
 
There were messages with words like 'tragic loss'. You see, six weeks ago, Melanie and her husband, Paul, had just welcomed their son, Joe Claude into the world - he was six weeks old.
 
Tragic indeed.
 
I reached out to Faith Chinnock, since hers was one of the first messages I saw. We spoke briefly and cried together in our astonishment and sadness.
 
A few moments later my phone rang. It was Carly Valentine, "What happened to Melanie?" More brief discussion, crying, and 'i love yous'.
 
Tragic indeed.
 
Everyone who met Melanie loved her immediately. She led with exuberance, humor, and a constant smile. Her love for her life and this desert was evident.
 
I fielded a phone call from someone locally who I'd never met, who had just met Melanie a few weeks earlier, who was hoping to get to know her better.
 
Tragic.
 
So, to honor Melanie and her kind, loving soul, I wanted to bring her episode to the forefront again. She left us on December 3, 2017, at a time of the year when, perhaps, we yearn and hope for more connection, remembering those who have taken their light into another room and look hope in the candles glow and the gatherings of friends or family.
 
For those who haven't heard the interview, listen to the great love in her voice for absolutely everything in her life. She was filled with gratitude.
 
For those who have heard it, I hope you'll listen again and let her voice seep into your soul and leave you smiling.
We miss our friend - I know.
 
And please listen through to the message from her parents, Gay and David Whitman - they ache for the daughter daily.