It is sad going on without Melanie. She had really become the heart and soul of this post. To say I’ll miss her is an understatement.
I talked to my shrink this morning. I told her about Melanie and said I hoped that she had finally found the peace that eluded her in life. She paused and said: “I somehow doubt that those who pass deeply troubled are less troubled in whatever afterlife they enter.” Neither me or my shrink actually believe in an afterlife, but I think we like the idea that there ought to be something, even if it’s a version of reincarnation.
The questions this week are:
Do you consider friends an extension of your family?
To a large degree, friends ARE family especially now that most of my original family has passed on. There are younger generations, but I have not gotten to know them.
Would you confide in a friend more than you would a family member?
It depends on the friend. I have one friend about whom the answer is “yes,” absolutely. Others, not so much.
How long have you known your best friend?
48 years for my friend. For my OTHER best friend (Garry), that would be 57 years, but only 32 of them married.
Do you believe distance has a negative effect on friendships?
Yes. Because we need more than intellectual communication. We also need intimacy and closeness. I know many people don’t realize how much we need little touches and even an occasional hug, but we do. It’s why no matter how close we get to friends online, it is not the same as the closeness we have to people we physically know or at least knew.
All of this being said …
I’m deeply grateful to the friends I’ve made online. Given how hard it is to get out and about these day, having all of this contact with people from around the world has kept me from getting dull. I’ve learned a lot from everyone. I hope it’s mutual.
And meanwhile, I’m missing Melanie very much.
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Categories: #Flowers, #Photography, #SYW, Anecdote, Share My World
SERENDIPITY: SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Hi Marilyn,
Thanks for joining in. Melanie is sadly missed by so many of us here on WP.
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Yes, she will be missed. But you know, I’ve lost many people both personally and online in the past couple of years. Mostly to cancer, but a couple to sudden strokes and a heart attack. I’m not trying to be morbid, but we seem to have entered that age group where losses are high and unlikely to diminish. At some point, we have to recognize that this is what the future looks like. I don’t like it, but it’s not up to me.
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I know what you mean. We have had a lot of deaths in our road, and I learned of another one just the other day. Yesterday, an ambulance was called to the house opposite but I don’t know if anyone was on board when they left.
A sign of age……….. we get older and we lose more familiar people both in our lives and those we grew up with like Leslie Philips who died the other day.
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Well I’m 75 and Garry’s 80 and we are by no means the oldest people in our “group.” But I won’t go to funerals anymore unless it’s someone who was really close.
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Interesting questions given the context… I did not know Melanie and only occasionally read her blog, and yet I am sad. Not in the way I was when Sue passed last year. Interesting on how connected we can become to people we have never met in the flesh.
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The loss of Sue was really painful. We had gotten surprisingly close and her loss doubled up with another loss at home. These past few years have been hard. Funny how COVID didn’t do the damage that cancer has done.
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“Friends”? I have Spiritual Masters. The best friends ever.
“Confide with them?” You better believe it.
“Known long”? Forever.
“Distance”? Go the distance.
“Grateful”? I’m the luckiest guy in the universe.
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Nice to get a happy response! It’s election day here — and I’m running a fever, something I NEVER do. The COVID self-test showed negative, but the test is also outdated as of last July. No idea how much (if any) difference it makes. But the thing is? I don’t run fevers, like EVER.
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Yeah … O MY … we are following it very closely Marilyn and Garry. The fate of World Freedom in on the line. If the US falls, the Free World falls. For you are the Champions. And we rightfully don’t trust a bunch of radical liars to run things. Right now it looks like the good guys were able to stick their thumb in the dike. Here’s hoping.
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