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- Ed’s 85th Birthday Sunflower
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- Ed’s 85th Birthday hat
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- With screen
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- Rusty things at the Black Hole
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- View of the Black Hole entrance
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- Objects in the Black Hole
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- Ed at entrance to the Black Hole
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- Objects in the Black Hole
Ed Grothus Memorial 
Love the pics of Uncle Edward and his collected goods in the black hole. Cheers to Uncle Ed!! Vincent
Comment by Vincent Berry — March 4, 2009 @ 4:36 pm
Dear sweet Ed — Eduardo,
As the day of your memorial approaches Greg and I are swept up with memories of our cherished friendship and relationship with you.
Dear Ed. You were such an inspiration to us.
I find myself shedding tears of grief as I write this — tears that I hope wash some of the grief and heartbreak away from others that strive to carry your work forward. This work of nuclear abolition seems to never end. Pictures of you crowd my mind. Pictures that give me a ray of hope, but sadness as well. There were many times over the years that I remember when you would shake your bowed head from side-to-side and sigh deeply, saying how you could not understand just how heartless and stupid the leaders of our country were and how desperately you wanted to affect positive change and move the world toward nuclear abolition and peace.
Your hopes were bolstered when Obama was elected, but soon dashed in part when it seemed that Obama’s administration was not the “change” that we had all hoped for.
Dear Ed. How can we all have the courage that you had, the leadership you embodied, the empowerment that you emboldened all of us with, the faith in humanity that you exemplified every second of every day? Your photo is on the bulletin board above my desk beside those of others, Sir Joseph Rotblat for one, that inspire and encourage me every minute of every day just when my strength begins to falter and slide into the abyss.
This is not the life that we all would have chosen from the outset. However, this is the life that we were called to live. It is a life that I feel blessed to be able to live no matter the costs — costs that I would classify as frivolous. There is a joy that emanates from souls such as yours, a joy that comes from down deep, a joy that no matter how hard the life, how dire the circumstances, continues to inspire.
Dear Ed. It is that joy, that light within your soul that will continue to shine on even though your tired body had to call it a day. Your work will live on in those of us that were blessed to know you here on earth, those of us that feel your presence today giving us that boost to carry on, inspiring us to continue our work. Your faith, understanding, generosity, exemplary leadership, foresight, courage, boldness, artistic eye, funny and quirky actions, a heart that never stopped loving all humankind. A heart that was so very pure and loaded with compassion for all. Those traits will live on Ed — in all of us.
An excerpt from one of Ed’s many letters to the editor of the Los Alamos Monitor — this one from February 2008:
“Too late it is realized that no one is secure unless everyone is secure and that doing good instead of doing ill would have been a wise decision. Too late it is realized that abolition of nuclear weapons would have been a wise decision and that even one bomb is too many. Manufacture of bombs and other things designed for killing instead of manufacture of good things to be given away as freely as the bombs were given away is too late recognized as the ultimate mistake.” — Don Eduardo de Los Alamos
It was Ed’s idea that if the U.S. were to give away washing machines or other appliances that those of us in the U.S. have and take for granted, or perhaps clean drinking water systems, simple and inexpensive things that are far beyond the reach of the poor in under-developed countries, this would be a way to create peace and not war.
Dear Ed. Our quest will continue. Our quest to change that Armageddon that you wrote of so often. Our quest to inspire others to change, but also to join us in this life. There are legions of young people that need the inspiration, guidance, and sponsorship necessary to be able to take up this baton of nuclear abolition when the rest of us must pass it on. I don’t fool myself into believing that this work will be finished any time soon. However, the task is one that those of you that have gone before us — Don Eduardo de Los Alamos, Sir Joseph Rotblat, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others not so famous, inspire the necessary strength, courage, and show us the joy and fulfillment that a life of this type can produce.
Thank you Ed for the many blessings you continue to impart on all of us. We love you Ed & miss you desperately,
Trish Williams-Mello, Greg Mello, and all the Los Alamos Study Group
Comment by Trish Williams-Mello & Greg Mello — April 1, 2009 @ 6:20 pm
Dear Ed:
I will forever remember you in lilac camouflage, at the ready to speak truth to power, and empower us to stand with you against the evils of the nuclear age. Ironically, from the Black Hole, you brought the light of the sun into all our lives. You will be deeply missed for your spirit, spontaneity and integrity.
Eda Gordon
Local Coordinator, 1999 Nuclear Free Future Awards
Santa Fe
Comment by Eda Gordon — April 3, 2009 @ 3:39 am
Ed,
you were like a painter leaving sparkling stars
on people who came close to you.
So now, all the ones you touched are able
to recognize each other around the world.
Oh, you knew Ed, they will say when they meet.
And sparks will jump up.
A worldwideweb of another kind.
A web which has your white hair woven in.
Angel hair,
children who have an eye for
things like that , will say.
Ed,
how is a cardinal of the
First Church of High Technology
welcomed on the other side?
I am sure there was a director’s chair
waiting for you, with “Don Eduardo de Los Alamos”
written on the back.
It is a good feeling for the peace and anti-nuke movement
to know somebody is watching them
and giving directions.
Up
on the hill you were a land mark.
A beacon.
Your black hole pulled us all in.
And when we left with a can
of cholesterin-free organic plutonium
were not the same anymore.
Because there were those sparkling stars,
impossible to be rubbed off ever again.
Ed,
your epistles are missing.
The local papers already
had empty spaces where
we were used to read:
One bomb is one too many.
Ed,
Walk tall and in beauty.
Claus Biegert from across the Atlantic
Comment by Claus Biegert — April 3, 2009 @ 5:40 pm
Dear Ed:
You will missed, good sir. For all that you did to promote peace, and for all that you were, sleep well. Sleep well.
Sincerely,
Matt
Comment by Matt — April 5, 2009 @ 5:42 pm