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Gary Coleman died today, as I'm sure everyone will hear about soon if they haven't already.

Good bye, Gary. We loved you as our goofy but uber-cool younger brother. And I would have loved to see you become Governor of California. Godspeed.

Mary died yesterday. Yes, that Mary.

My mother died today. Here's a picture of the last time she visited us. She was ready to be friends with everybody, and was immediately interested in what they were doing. Though she spent the last years of her life riddled with pain from rheumatoid arthritis and wrestling with various health problems, she worked up until last year as a full-time nurse on the night shift. She loved kids and paying them all kinds of attention... her grandkids especially. She loved animals of all kinds, but cats and birds especially. She was strong, kind, creative, forgiving, and gentle.

I feel emptier than I ever have before. And I know it's only going to get worse for a while. Bye, Mom.

A day or so ago, we learned that a dear friend, Brigitte Lundblade, had died. She was a woman of singular devotion and unparalleled friendliness. She was a kindly woman who was rock-solid in her faith, the mother of the Estonian Baha'i community.

When last I spoke with her, she was bent with age, but very much sharp of mind, strong of will, and joyful of spirit. It had been more than a year, though, and we had no idea about her diagnosis of cancer, or that for whatever reasons, there just wasn't anything anybody could do about it.

The thing is, with certain people, you have this feeling that they're going to always be there. Brigitte was the most amazing example of that: here's this tiny little old lady, chuckling over tea and cookies, offering up the easiest and most personal kind of friendship, hospitality, and wisdom... after enough visits with her, you just feel that she's a light that will shine forever.

We will miss her terribly.

Goodbye, Brigitte.

[I swiped this picture from bahaijournal.org.uk. Hopefully they won't mind.]

Gary Gygax, inventor of Dungeons & Dragons, has died. While on the one hand, this man is responsible for assuring that millions of geeks nationwide got even more beatings than they deserved in junior high, on the other, he taught the same group of social maladroits that they could, when in doubt, role play and fake their way through the rough spots.

And, bonus, he imparted a vast knowledge of medieval weaponry along the way. I mean, how many kinds of awesome is it to know the difference between a fauchard-fork, a bill-guisarme, a halberd, a glaive, and a bec de corbin?

You know what, don't answer that.

Anyway, thanks, Gary. Hope you attained a good spot in whatever plane you desired. And... not to presume, but... well, say hi to Lolth for us. You will be missed.

     

hats off to Penny Arcade for the memorial.