She was special. She was my aunt and my namesake. When my parents died many years ago, Aunt Tera was there, encouraging me to stay in school, not to alter a young life course. She talked. I listened. She lived a life by example. I watched. And I paid attention.
It’s been five years since she died. Her legacy is simple. Tera Jean Patricks, my Aunt Tera, will be remembered by many whose lives she touched, some whose lives she helped nurture, and some she helped guide when they needed a direction.
Today, her name, my namesake, is born again.
I’m Tera Thomas O’Brien, Aunt Tera’s niece. I’ve asked Tera’s friends, Alexis Kayhill, Bambi Brannan, and Ron McElfresh, and they have agreed to allow me to become curator and editor for Tera Talks.
My objective is two fold.
First, I want to carry forward Aunt Tera’s legacy, her flame of life. To that end I plan to publish entries from her personal journal. Tera had a unique way of looking at life; all the grandeur of humanity. And the foibles of mankind.
Second, as Aunt Tera’s namesake, I feel a personal obligation, and I have a desire, to express my view of life; to carry a flame, to light up the day, and bring thought, comfort, and stimulation to all I see, and to do so in a way that would make my aunt proud.
I may not possess Aunt Tera’s technical abilities (she bought me my first computer, a Mac), knowledge, and life experience, but I admired her willingness to share a perspective in an amusing, thoughtful, and sometimes irreverent way.
And so, Tera Talks begins anew.
If I had children, I would hope to inspire in them what you are doing.
…so far the best I’ve been able to do is get my cat to occasionally look up when I call her name. Seems I am probably going to have to rethink that whole “go-make-me-a-latte” thing.
It’s great to have another Tera. I followed Tera Patricks for many years on Mac360 and then later on her blog before she died.
Carry on the flame, baby!
The web is absolutely full of worthless information, so it’s refreshing to find a place with interesting, reasonable, and thoughtful perspectives. And a Mac user, too.
Dear Tera–
I am enormously pleased to see what you are doing here. Your aunt meant a great deal to so many in the Mac community, especially those of us who had been promoting the Mac since the 80s, and appreciated the straightforward, calm integrity of her voice. In saying this, I am telling you nothing that you don’t already know from first hand experience, but it does mean a lot to people such as myself to be able to say this to you, her legacy. Your aunt was more than a ‘Mac journalist;’ as a person who has worked as a teacher for the last 25 years, I always sensed a kindred spirit in her approach, a kindness in her design–qualities I have always noted in the best of my own colleagues. Thanks Tera–for carrying it forward.