As with most mornings, I woke myself up via my ever growing, frighteningly large RSS feed via Google Reader. Normally I end up skimming and stopping when something catches my eye. Well today something did. Mr. Carl Zimmer, author of the blog The Loom, currently hosted by the Overmind of Discover Magazine, posted a poinient follow up to a post he had made in April.
The Loom Excerpt:
In April, a reader named Abigail sent in this tattoo, with the following description:
My first year of college, I wanted to be an English major, and I took Intro Chemistry to fill the science requirement. The brief unit on thermodynamics made me fall totally in love. Entropy made sense to me – scientifically, philosophically. I became a Chemistry major and love every second of it. I got the tattoo to mark my rite of passage – Entropy going both ways, with its symble delta-S in the middle, all supported in the roots of Yggdrasil, the world-tree of Norse mythology (harking back to my English-lit days).Today, Abigail’s mother sent in this sad note:Abigail is my daughter. I was with her when she got this tattoo last March, several months after she turned 18, while she was attending Reed College in Portland. It was an adventure for both of us. She came home for the summer in May, and four days later was in a fatal car accident.
I will be getting this same tattoo next week – Abigail’s personal design – from the same artist. It will memorialize both my daughter and her intellect and passion for science and philosophy.
The world has lost an incredible mind. Thank you Mr. Zimmer for displaying this artwork and sharing it with visitors to this site.
The passing of this young woman is very, very sad. I would have been honored to know someone whose love of knowledge allowed them to combine their love of chemistry and the beautiful Norse Mythos. I can only hope that her great passion will influence those who come after her and those who met her.
This is the world we live in, where the lives of passionate smart young women are snuffed out by tragic accidents, while the demons run among us. All we can do is hold onto our dreams and fight the back those who would have us succumb to ignorance. Abigail Garcia is an inspiration.
May she feast forever in the Halls of Valhalla.
It is a beautiful tattoo and a great story. Sad, yes, but very touching. I loved the fact that her mom planned to get the same tattoo. Many folks get tattoos to commemorate their fallen friends and loved ones, and this one is by far the most elegant tribute I have seen in this genre.