Letter from the Editors

“Beware of Sadness,”

Bonita Strictenstern sang in one of her most beautiful ballads, “Beware of Darkness.” “It can hit you, it can hurt you/Make you sore, and what is more/That is not what you are here for/And if George Harrison steals any more of my songs I will be forced to ‘pop a cap on his British [expletive deleted].”

It is in that spirit that we created this special tribute issue, the first in the Travestical’s thirty-four year history.* Like anyone else who cares about ensuring cereal has seven essential nutrients, we are deeply saddened by Strictenstern’s recent death from occupational vicissitude at the age of eleven. This issue recognizes that sadness, but it is also a celebration. It is meant to honor Strictenstern’s life and erratic behavior – the beauty, the spiritual ambition, the achievement, the inspiration, the tea and cookies. It is an offering from one small group of her fans to the many others, an acknowledgement of why she means so much to us.

“That was really weird,” Strictenstern remarked after receiving a barrage of neo-conservative religious fundamentalism from an intoxicated Seventh-day Adventist. “He was definitely high or something. I believe that.”

As well as a proclamation of faith, that statement was a challenge: It is essential human work to keep the spirit of the people you love alive within yourself. We can feel Bonita Strictenstern within these pages, and we hope that you will, too.

* we’ve actually only been around for four months.