Welcome to Light of the Midnight Sea!

Welcome to the first online home of Light of the Midnight Sea; a story-telling service that assists families in creating tributes for their loved ones.

The purpose of this site is to showcase examples of how your stories can be told.

Simple Pleasures

For our first example, we journey to the fields of Iowa and join the life end review of an Iowa farmer.

This tribute has only one song but sometimes, as in this case, just the one is all you need.

The haunting melody and the lyrics that speak of home were seemingly tailor made for this individual.

This tribute is also a fine example of a post funeral tribute...by almost 20 years! Never the less, just because your family member passed away years before is no reason what so ever to not honor them for their contribution to family lore and legacy.

Perhaps you have a major family reunion coming up; how fascinating it would be to see the lives of your fore bearers come to life on screen. All those photos that Aunt Ethel has been dragging out every year are now backed with music and animated!

Another good thing about post-funeral tributes is that with the passage of time, the focus of the person's life has become clearer to the survivors making for a more detailed and honest assessment.

Either way, it beats listening to Aunt Ethel drone on and on about Great, Great, Great Uncle Cedric and his champion cauliflower garden!

One Day More

Sometimes, there are no words.
How do I explain what happened to my child? All the bright promise of their birth gone in the blink of an eye leaving me here to try and tell you how, despite everything, how very much this child was loved...

Audrey N. came into the world, a healthy baby who was, in all respects, perfectly "normal".

All of that changed shortly after her first birthday when a contaminated polio vaccine plunged Audrey and her family into a world of fear and confusion. The fear abated and became a deep seated sorrow; sorrow for the life that had been and for the way it had become.

And yet, there was still love. Still some laughter scattered amid the tears. This was a family who loved their daughter very much and miss her still to this day.

Life is not fair. Not all of us get the golden haired wonder child to brag about in Christmas newsletters. Not all of us get the child to be proud of...

Sometimes parents of special needs children and adults think that they can't do any sort of tribute to their child. After all, they say, my child never went to school, never ran a race, never won a prize, went to a dance...not like the others anyway.

And then there's the parents of the child lost to drugs, booze and pills . Maybe their pride and joy ended his or her days in a prision cell. Should they be denied the right to grieve and say,

"Here was my child!"?

The tribute for Audrey N. addresses the bitter and the sweet of her brief life head on, no excuses, no sugar coating. No, sometimes her life was not good. But she loved and was loved.

The poem at the end was written by Audrey's Mother in her honor for this, her special day, the day of her freedom from her body and from this earth.

My Heart Will Not Fear

Phyllis is the Mother to Audrey N.

Phyllis's life was not an easy one and, like her daughter, her life was also brought to an early end by illness.

As the video frankly addresses, Phyllis did not become the strong yet gracious woman she was known for being over night. The heartbreak of Audrey together with the violent deaths of her Mother and Sister both shattered but then molded her into the "steel magnolia" she was proud to be.

This tribute is an excellant example of a 3 song offering, clearly breaking down the chapters of a life from childhood, adulthood and final maturity.

As can be guessed from the rich details of the video, this was created post-passing. This is not to say that such a highly organized and detailed video is not possible in an "at-need" situation, it certainly is! However, sometimes the passing of time is needed to see the person clearly and, just like life itself, take the bitter with the sweet.

The Many Worlds of Alex!

Let's lighten up here a little shall we?

Alex was born "in the shadow of the Winter Palace" in St. Petersburg, Russia. His family were employed by the last Tzar of all the Russians. Had it not been 1918, Alex's life would have doubtlessly been one of complacent privilege.

While just a baby in his Mother's arms, Alex fled St. Petersburg and landed in Poland. There he grew up only to take to his feet for his life again in September, 1939. With his fellow Polish Airforce members, he hopped across the globe, always one step ahead from danger until finally landing in Scotland.

Alex's life reads like an adventure novel! Maps and "establishing shots" flesh out the scant images he had left of his childhood and youth. The music from the hit film, "Dr. Zhivago" fit the Alex story like a hand in glove.

As you will notice, this tribute is NOT a memorial, it is a Birthday Tribute for a major milestone; Alex's 90th!

Maybe your life is like this; a journey that has taken you from one country to another. Wouldn't you like to preserve your history and review it while you're still here? Then a tribute like Alex's is the one for you ! I mean, how many birthday tie or blouses can one take past the age of 70?

Shoot the link to your kids with a heavy HINT. Let them surprise you in a good way!

And now for something completely different..!

Animation in Photostory3? You betcha! Old school style that is.

The person this was made for is a HUGE fan of Monty Phyton's Flying Circus. What better way to introduce his tribute but with a nod and a shout-out to the Phytons on his behalf!

The story unfolds from there but not in the order that one would expect. Just like its subject matter, Bob, the tribute is an eclectic mix of many interests and themes that somehow manage to present a whole picture of a most interesting fellow!

As you will no doubt note, yes, Bob is the Father of Audrey N. and after some debating, a special section was composed and devoted to just their relationship and its effect upon Bob's life.

This 85th Birthday tribute is also a great example of an online, long distance collaboration!

Yes, Virginia, we don't have to be sitting face to face in order for us to craft a tribute. Ideally, the photos you send will be coming via email and in a JPEG format. However, as in this case, if the best you can do are xeroxed copies on normal office paper, I can make that work too.

Special editing had to be made on some of the music in order to keep within Photostory's 20 minute time frame. The extra effort was well worth it however; the tribute was a smash with Bob and with his birthday party guests; something completely different indeed!