Irina Yarmolenko

When I received the news of Irina Yarmolenko, I was not ready for it.

Oh God! Not Again!

It wasn't until last Saturday morning that I got the news, and only because I went to Who Killed Theresa? that morning. (Thank you, John!)

Oh God! Her funeral is today! Why didn't I know about this before?
Brain goes into spin while processing all the events of the passed week.
I was looking forward to a nice quiet weekend, with nothing more important to do, after some errands, than to write something about Debbie in Chris's Crime Forum, and check on the progress of my video project.

I was not ready to deal with yet another beautiful young woman from Chapel Hill being murdered, for no apparent reason.

My God! Haven't we had enough!?
(deep breath and chill out)

I kick myself for not picking up the story when her body was found on Monday.
It was in Mt. Holly, NC. I know someone who lives there. I have been there a couple of times. Her body was found next to her car on the bank of the Catawba River. It sounds like someone tried to drive her car into the river, but was defeated by a stump.

Then I remind myself of what I had going on that week. Would I have been in a better place to deal with it then? I also remind myself that murder very rarely, if ever, occurs at a convenient time for us.

All this spins through my head, but with a lot more detail, as I go through my morning coffee and e-mail ritual. I'm still in "wake up" mode, and asking myself if I can include a funeral in my plans for today.

As the coffee takes its effect, I then reflect upon a pleasant interview I've had with this nice lady, talking about Debbie Key.
At the time, I was collecting personal testimonies from people who knew Debbie, which I used to compose "My Eulogy to Debbie."
It was this lady who gave me the "She had a great talent for cheering people up, making people laugh, and inspiring people to get off their butts..."

I decide immediately that this is the very inspiration that I need right now.

Long story short, I compromise my plans for the day to include a drive down Legion Road, which runs behind the Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery, at the time the graveside service was taking place.
At least I get a view of how many people showed up.
Looks like a pretty good number to me.
Driving to my final errand of the day, I wish I could do more.

Since last weekend, I've been looking for something about Irina Yarmolenko to post in here. I've also had the opportunity to talk to some young people who knew her. It's a familiar story, perhaps too familiar.

Good person, never did any harm, loved by everyone, witty, charming, good natured, and why the hell would anyone want to kill her?

Way too close to home for us, for sure!
Now check out this cool guestbook I found for Irina on the 'Net.

http://www.legacy.com/charlotte/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=109250336