This blog post has been sitting in my drafts for a number of months and it is time to finish and publish it. Since mid-April, it has been a collection of notes and bullet points, links and snippets – chaos that does not usually exist in my structured, ordered world for long. It has been blocking all other creative thoughts and screams for completion, yet, the needed structure has eluded me until very recently. My sister Lori deserves more from me and I intend to deliver.
Lori Mairs left this world on April 8th, 2021. She was an amazing person who leaves a legacy of caring insight with many many people. I won’t bore you with her official obituary, which you can read online any time. Rather, I want to tell the story of who Lori was to me, her little brother.
Though our parents are Canadian, my sister and I were both born in New Zealand. Maybe it is something in the water, or perhaps it was the peaceful, almost magical environment there, but this fact always remained as a powerful bond between us. My closest sibling, the one who always had to share the “kids table” with me at family events, the one who always had my back. No offense meant to my other, older siblings who I love and adore as well, but Lori was the one who was always there with me, for me.
Of course, I was also the one she tricked into doing her math homework for her. I was the guinea pig for culinary experiments like Pickle and Peanut Butter sandwiches. I was the excuse for not going out to things she wanted to avoid. When we piled into the car to venture out as a family, she and I were the smallest and youngest, so we often got tied together in a seat. Being five years older than me, it was often a social problem for her and me to be lumped together. This was particularly true as a pre-teen; What 12-year-old wants to have her 7-year-old brother hanging around all the time?
When I was in high school she went back to New Zealand for a short visit that became a 5-year epic adventure. Along the way, she helped to set wheels in motion that would eventually revolutionize advocacy rights in that country. She then came back and did the same in Canada. She championed the rights of those who were not able to defend themselves, then taught others how to do the same.
But protecting life did not have human boundaries for my sister. As long as I knew her, she was concerned for the wildlife and ecosystem around us. I remember as a child, her favourite stories were always about animals and the forest. As an adult, she was a protector of the wildlife and forests we encroach upon daily. Her work with the Wildcraft Forest Foundation is only the most recent in a long line of protective stances that included a special need to protect Haida Gwaii.
It is interesting that I am finally publishing this on el dia de los muertos (the day of the dead), a day I have come to appreciate in the last decade. I know there are many people who loved and learned from Lori and we should all be grateful to have had her in our lives. This was a person who affected the lives of so many who had never met her or even knew her name. I am blessed to not only have known her but to have shared many years of my life close to her. On this day in particular, I will remember her and welcome her spirit.
The Bleeding Edge 
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