We are here to celebrate the life of Lorna Hanson Forbes today. My name is (blank). I’m a professional photographer from Los Angeles and I have no idea why I’m here today other than to say this was Lorna’s last request for me to deliver the eulogy.
Unbeknownst to many of you who knew Lorna, in their world and in their minds, I’m not sure why but I was the unrequited love of their life. We first met in high school. It was only due to mutual friends that we ever met in the first place. Then Lorna expressed their undying love and devotion to me. I can safely say, I simply recoiled in horror because I am not Gay. I’ve never been with nor have I ever had a relationship with a man, but that’s not the point here.
We had not actually spoken to each other in years, I believe it was forty plus years to be precise. We had talked to each other via social media and then in July 2018, Lorna was in LA and reached out to me and asked if we could meet up and talk. I told them, I didn’t not have the bandwidth to deal. Shortly afterwards, Lorna sent me a link to their blog where they attacked me. It really hurt me deeply and I was mortified by the things that were written about me. Later, after I calmed down, I went back and scrolled through years of posts. I learned that Lorna was a troubled soul who battled through their bipolar depression and manic episodes. I also learned that Lorna had a heart wider than the Grand Canyon.
From pouring over the years of blog posts, I found out that things about Lorna. Most I won’t talk about and I also found that Lorna gave. If it was love you were after, at times it was smothering you and also putting you on a pedestal. Lorna was defiant about accepting you loving them. I don’t know if I can ever say that I could have even use the word love or any other adjective to describe Lorna. I can say that Lorna was special. Now using the word special comes with various meanings. Some connotations were sincerely sarcastic and others were used as simple as the word special is defined.
Lorna struggled and came back. Lorna would often reference a song by Ethel Merman, down in the dumps on the 99th floor. Lorna explained it as no matter how much they hurt inside, Lorna would always rise to the occasion and would always give you the shirt off their back. You would always rely upon them to lift you up and help you but when it was Lorna’s turn, they’d just accept it and move on and would make a comment about it was disingenuous which is an absolute fabrication.
As I look out and look back, for forty plus years, Lorna held me in their heart like no one else and I’ve been through so many different experiences but I had no idea how much Lorna held me. I thought my mother and my family held me up as families do however they never wanted anything more from me other than a hug. To be held. That crushing bear hug. To be told that you, Lorna Hanson Forbes, you are special in every way possible way. I told Lorna that they are special and those who lives you have touched will always be cherished. I was hesitant at first to read Lorna’s blog because when they were angry and hurt, it was an eradication of the harshest kind. We’ve all seen the worst in Lorna and we all have been at the receiving end of the love, joy and support as no one can replace.
I know I’m the wrong person to tell you about Lorna and I can be there to listen to you talk about Lorna, and I’ll be just as dumbfounded as they come and I’ll truly never be able to process all of it. From my understanding and my perspective, Lorna is the strongest person I’ve ever known and I may never have had what Lorna was capable of giving. I’ll admit that I didn’t want it from the beginning and I may not want it today but I have dismissed it all and probably will continue to do so, though I will say, if there’s one thing that we can all agree on is that the legacy of Lorna Hanson Forbes will and can be looked upon as, is it like an Andy Warhol and is it the ugliest thing or is it a work of art? Not sure myself but you can’t say that you have not been touched by Lorna. Rest in Power, Miss Thing 1980. You were and still are.
