Fallen Sidekick - OR - Noodles of Doom?

This is my Eulogy speech given for my not-really-fallen-sidekick Jenny. Comments/criticisms are most welcome. I have to deliver this on Monday.

Born to Laurie and Gordon (Moose) Fleury, Jenny was a short girl who lived a short, yet full life. She was born and raised in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin – a small town just outside of Madison. The actual instance of Jenny’s birth was a bit odd – Born one week late she was just 5.5 lbs or 2.5 kgs. On top of that – she came out butt first! While many of us plunged forth headfirst into this life, Jenny somehow got all tangled up right from the start and came out backwards – She never was good with directions.
As an unusually little girl, Jenny was very active, but unsatisfied with her size. She realized early on that she was much smaller than usual and she would pray each night before going to bed – she would pray for something she could never have – tallness. While she never achieved this childhood dream – she was never deterred and lived a full life – She was a cheerleader, a gymnast, and much more. And what she may have lacked in height, she made up for in climbing ability and sense of humor. 147cm of giggly tree-climbing energy.
I don’t think she would be surprised to see so many people gathered here to mourn her. She was an outgoing, energetic girl. She was a giving, helpful person and she didn’t like to be alone for any length of time. I’m pleased to say she certainly isn’t alone today.
Jenny managed to survive a few near-death experiences in the way she was constantly defying certain laws, such as gravity and common sense – When she was 4, Jenny was watching a children’s show on the Nickolodeon channel with her mother and somehow from this they got the idea that it would be lots of fun to swim in a baby pool full of pasta! So Laurie spent all day boiling up macaroni – Pot after pot was dumped into the tiny pool. And as it had been sitting all day – her mother assumed the noodles were cooled down enough so Jenny ran and jumped into the pool – Her screams were quick and quite horrific I’m sure – The noodles at the bottom had retained their heat as those of you familiar with cooking pasta may already be aware. Jenny was scalded by the still near-boiling temperature noodles towards the bottom of the pool – She suffered burns over most of her body.
Her next run into with heat was much less painful physically, but it was still a significant moment in her life. When she was 11, her house burned down and her parents finalized their divorce. Certainly a time of turmoil – it nevertheless shaped her into a person who could appreciate the hardships of this often cruel world we live in – A world full of hidden dangers; like pasta!
Jenny was often stealthy in her good deeds. She didn’t advertise the way she would help everyone out in subtle ways. I suspect most of us here today have at one point been on the receiving end of her kindness. Myself especially! I’m not sure how I would have gotten to school this semester if Jenny hadn’t picked me up everyday. Then again, had I found another way, I could have been on time more often! Whether she was giving rides or just cheering people up, she was always there doing more than her part to make things easier for everybody else.
She especially loved children and because of her playful nature and possibly her size, they loved her. Children, Jenny knew, are the best judges of character. When she taught first grade here at an international school here some years ago, she really connected with them – and it helped her to regain some of that childhood way of appreciating the wonder of things that most of us seem to have forgotten. I will miss her as a fountain of complements. If I ever needed to be cheered up or helped out, she was there.
I will also miss our adventures together. Sometimes a simple night out a Warm Up was sufficient, but she also accompanied me on one very special occasion where I essentially got Kreng-jai’d into going to this strange vegetarian event to which we were invited to by the staff at the old vegetarian shop that used to be in the canteen. We were taken out to a house far outside the city and shown around mushroom garden-sheds where they grow all the mushrooms for the vegetarian products. Then we had a really great vegetarian breakfast – Everybody was in good spirits. Soon after this we were led into this open building which we quickly realized was some sort of temple. Even then we didn’t realize what we had gotten into. We were separated, as males and females must sit separate for reasons which we were completely oblivious. What followed was a grueling full-day lecture with all kinds of praying and such – Of which Jenny understood absolutely nothing – and it was a struggle for me to understand much of what was going on. We had been lured into an evil Chinese-Buddhist-Vegetarian Cult recruitment seminar. We were trapped there all day until we finally had anxiety attacks and I had to go a little crazy to get someone to drive us out of there. The food sure was good though.
A few semesters back when we were in higher spirits and more likely to be found doing musical things around Payap we would go to the chapel a few times a week and jam out some pretty sweet versions of Evanesence songs with a piano and 2 voices. I will miss her not only as a karaoke and musical partner, but most of all as a sidekick because good sidekicks like Jenny don't happen often in a lifetime.