from diane dibble

annapurna (georgianne) was part of my life for fifty years. we first met when we were twelve years old. we were in seventh grade together in suburban sacramento. i don't remember why we became friends, but we did. we managed to live through junior high, high school, college, the sixties, and on into our sixties together.

after high school, she went on to UCB and i remained in sacramento, going to sacramento state for a few years, but we kept in touch, seeing each other during summers and holidays. when i moved to san francisco in january of 1966 to finish my last year of college at san francisco state, it was georgianne and mike smith who helped me move from sacramento to san francisco.

needless to say, there were lots of changes we went through during those years but nothing like what was coming. after graduating from berkeley, in the summer of 1966 georgianne moved into the city and we shared an apartment in the haight with two other friends and a few months later, we all moved out of the haight to an apartment on lyon street. we wandered haight street, saw the dead and the airplane in the panhandle of golden gate park, went to the be-in, attended the dances at the fillmore and the avalon and were very much a part of the cultural shift that was happening. while there was plenty of "sex, drugs and rock n roll" going on, to be sure, it was also around this time that georgianne met loring palmer and seriously began exploring eastern philosophies and religions. by 1970, i had moved to marin county and georgianne was at zen center and about to begin her pilgrimages to india and nepal.

throughout the seventies i received many wonderful letters and postcards in which she described her experiences in "inja." sometime in 1971 i received a postcard from her with a message that mahara-ji had named her annapurna.

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later came news of her marriage to dhamadipo

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and then gita's birth in 1973. although she was moving around quite a lot during this time, and we took different directions in our lives, we managed to keep in touch and visit when she was in the bay area. finally, in the late seventies, she returned to the bay area with michael, they settled in corte madera and in 1981 she gave birth to nicholas.

we saw each other occasionally during the eighties and nineties -- high school class reunions, infrequent dinners with friends and occasional parties. the past few years, she, pam (another friend from high school), denise (her roommate in college) and i began to get together for dinner on a more-or-less regular basis.

last friday pam, denise, annapurna and i had one of our semi-regular dinners together at la trattoria siciliana in oakland. the food was fantastic and we had a great visit. annapurna even ate more than she usually did. at the end of the meal, we set a date for our next dinner, hugged each other and went our separate ways.

we knew each other so many years -- annapurna was like a sister to me as i was the only girl in my family and had younger brothers. she was wise, loving, compassionate and a dear friend. i am blessed to have had her in my life.

my dear sweet sister, you are in my heart always.