Monastery in Mourning

[optyx1]

Thanks all for the welcome.

I will check in now and then, but I'm more a reader than writer.  I don't have Chatty's facility with the written word (or, for that matter, the spoken word).  I've often told people that I have a tested IQ of 147 and I'm the stupid one.

Remember--just because I write little that doesn't mean I'm not paying attention.

Chatty told me so much about this place and those who inhabit it that I really do feel I'm among friends.

May the deity of your choice smite the other guy.

Dan

[Griffin NoName]

Hi again Dan

We have a number of "readers" who for various reasons post little or rarely.... I like to think we are being cared for by benevolent forces and after all, silence in a Monastery is to be expected. You bring us comfort that an important part of Chatty is still with us and I hope we can do the same for you.

[Bluenose]

Hi Dan,

I don't for a moment imagine that I can fully understand how you feel, but I know that it would also be impossible for me to express how much Chatty meant to me personally.  This may seem strange for someone on the other end of an Internet link from the other side of the world, but there it is.  So I would like to offer you my sincerest personal condolences and good wishes for the future.  I'm sure Chatty would not want any of us to sit around and mope, she would want us to remember the good times.  And there were plenty of those.  She made us laugh.  She made us wonder at the strength of her character.  She helped us when we were having a hard time.  We loved her for it.  If we just try a little to be more like her the world would surely be a better place.  I think "what would Chatty say?" will prove to be, in the future, a very good way of working out what's right in difficult circumstances.  We can only try to live up to her example.

Dan, rest assured you are most welcome here.  Chatty spoke of you often enough that I feel like I know you already.  But I would like the opportunity to realy get to know you, if you would like to stay around in this little corner of the Interwebs.  Welcome.  As for the amount you may post, we appreciate quality here, so never feel that there is a need for you to say more than you feel you need or want to.

Your friend,

Sibling Bluenose

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Dan

I'll avoid repeating what other siblings have said in better words than I could. I just want to say thank you for coming here and post which I'm sure isn't an easy thing to do right now.

As sibling Bluenose said, it is hard to express how important she was for us in general but for me in particular even if we never met in person.

Thank you again.

N

[Opsa]

Dan,

I can't begin to tell you how wonderful it is to see you here. I feel like we've found an old friend and it is tremendously encouraging. Thank you.

Your Pal
Opsa

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

Dan,
Welcome. However often you choose to post, you're always welcome here.

Chatty,
We'll miss you! I'm so sad to see you gone but I'm very glad have known you for the time I did.

[Alchemist]

My heart goes to all of you.

I've not been a massive poster over here but Chatty (and a few others) welcomed me with open arms (fools ;p)

I don't know what else to say

[Opsa]

Alchie!

So glad to see you, even in this sad time.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Dear Toadfish and Visitors,

Today, June 22nd 2009, we learned that one of our founding members, known here as Sibling Chatty, has died.

Chatty was one of the strongest personalities with whom I have ever been in contact. Her sense of humor was endless. She made me laugh out loud. Her generosity was truly inspiring. She gave even when she only had a little to give.  Her passions were fierce. If you were ever in a tangle you would want Chatty on your side. She was the kind of warrior you could be sure would stop a bullet for you.

Chatty had cancer, but she never felt sorry for herself. She mentioned it only as a matter of fact. She fought it, as she fought anything else that got in her way- with her whole being. And she still found more than enough strength to fight battles for others, too. Just within the past few months she managed to help a battered spouse find a home and stop some jerk from hitting his little kid in a parking lot. Any foe was a foe of hers. Cancer was no different from any of them. She was fearless. She was our hero.

So if we seem a little low key these days, please be patient. We will be taking some time to recover from the loss of someone we will always remember and hold dear.

Chatty, thank you for being our sibling. We will always remember you and will remember to take up the smiting stick wherever we know you would. Your fight is not over! We love you forever.

Opsanus?  I really liked your memorial statement.  I would like to see it posted on the Facebook Monastery page, as a wall posting.

I could do that, but it would have my name on it, instead of yours.

I would rather it had yours, as you are the author.

Thanks

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11287972798

[Opsa]

Thank you, B-of-Q. I bowed out of Facebook some time ago, but you may certainly post it. I'd appreciate that.

[Aphos]

http://geology.com/nasa/aurora/aurora-borealis-curtains-alaska.jpg

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Thank you, B-of-Q. I bowed out of Facebook some time ago, but you may certainly post it. I'd appreciate that.

I'll do so, with "Opsanus tau" at the end, then.

It is done.  Due to the limitations of Facebook (length) I made a couple of minor edits, but the essential message is exactly as you wrote it.

[anthrobabe]

Dan,

She lives on -- truly she does-- thank you for stopping by.
You are most welcome at any time.

[Alchemist]

Alchie!

So glad to see you, even in this sad time.

Likewise (and thanks )

I wish I'd been here (if you know what I mean) - I doubt I'd have help but, well, you know?

I hate stuff like this. It makes me so mad (and so FU*KING FRUSTRATED!) that we have to die.

It's such a waste

[Opsa]

But it's really not a waste. The best things about us are the things that keep going around in the living world. No matter how worthless we may seem to ourselves, there's always something worthwhile that we've taught to someone, somehow. The rest is just chemicals