06/14/05
Welcome to Mo's new website.  It has been quite awhile since I've posted any updates.  The main reasons being that we are all busy with our lives and it is a painful experience - so many thousands of memories.  As I look through all the vivid pictures to choose some for publishing, I want to show them all, I want to go back...
But as we approach the one year anniversary of losing Mo, it is time to get moving on his new site, the purpose of which is to honor his memory.  I'm planning on publishing pictures and videos and whatever else comes our way.  The old website is still in place, I'm planning to keep it intact, but at some point I will merge it into this one.
It is hard to believe that it has been a year.  Soon we will pass the time where we can say (or even think) "Last year at this time we were doing such and such with Mo...".  Life moves on, we are all dissolved in the eddies of time, some way too soon.  We are forced to adjust our course.
This Spring has brought 2 special memorials:
We created a memorial at Mo's elementary school (Glenn Stephens).  The memorial consists of a Ginkgo Tree, some flowers, and a granite boulder with a plaque.  It is in a small, mulched island in the back of the school near the grove of pine trees.  Of course anyone is welcome to visit at any time.
The plaque reads:

In Loving Memory of
Maurice Rosefelt
10/1/92 - 7/10/04
Mo was a kind, gentle spirit who
enjoyed his 6 years at Glenn
Stephens and proudly graduated
on June 11, 2004.

We held a small, informal dedication ceremony after school on May 24.  It was attended by friends, family, and staff from the school.  Like the memorial service held after he passed away, everyone was invited to speak.  Several people did and then we sang "The Circle Song", which was one of Mo's favorites.  It was a beautiful ceremony.
I've worked on it many times (planting and watering), but have neglected to bring my camera - now that I've started this website, I'll get over there to photograph it and get a picture up here soon.
The other memorial is one which Mo earned on his own.  If you look back at the September 2, 2003 entry at Mo's original website (click 04/26-09/07 in the left bar), you will see that Mo had developed a relationship with the Madison Water Utility.  At age 8 he sent them a letter praising their trucks, and 3 years later, when he was in the news for raising the most money at a fundraiser for the UW Children's Hospital sponsored by his Karate Academy, the Water Utility noticed that he was the boy who had sent them the letter and gave Mo a check to bring the total he raised to over $3000.  This was very special to Mo, as they drove an emergency repair vehicle to our house, delivered the check, and gave him a look inside, showed him their repair equipment and answered his questions about what they do.
The Water Utility recently built a new building, and they have included a memorial to Mo.  Mo's letter emphasized the role which the Water Utility plays in our community and demonstrated how they make a connection to young boys who observe their trucks working on the water infrastructure around the city.  During Mo's illness, the concern which we expressed on his website regarding the connection between our toxification of our environment and the increase in cancer emphasized the link between a little boy, and an essential part of the Water Utility's mission statement, which is:

"to provide and maintain an adequate supply of safe water for consumption and fire protection,
with quality service and at a reasonable price, for present and future generations."

Safe being a keyword.  Needless to say, I can't describe how frustrating it is to continue to watch people dump poisons en masse directly into our habitat.  They drift into our windows with the wind, we stir them up when we cut the grass, we track them into our houses on our shoes and on our pets. They don't break down in here, they accumulate.  How can it be anything but insane?  Poisoning ourselves, our children.  Oh well, at least the chemical companies are happy.  The water company can only do so much to protect the water.  Just look at our lakes - don't doubt that the groundwater is next...
Anyway, on Thursday, June 16, the Water Company is hosting an open house from 2:00 to 3:30.  All are welcome to attend.  We are planning to visit around 2:00.  The building is located at 119 E. Olin Avenue.  I'll bring back some pix.  We are extremely touched by this, Mo would've been deeply honored.  Our deepest thanks to the Madison Water Utility.