Angie
A friend died early this morning. Someone I had the privilege of knowing for a short time through the local blogging community.
Angie used to meet up with a crew known as the Portland Bloggers. We held court a Kell's on the first Friday of the month....talking about our geeky selves and occasionally making connections through rambling lifewords thrown up on websites. She was a thin drink of water, with a smile on her face and penchant for science fiction. Our kind of gal. This was 2002 - and our lives were still beginning.
As time wore on, I fell out of synch with the group. My entrance into parenthood in 2003 made the attending those monthly meetings a bit more difficult. Time passed and I kept track through Jenn - who emerged as good friend outside of the blogging circle.
It was through Jenn that Angie came back into my life. Jenn and I work together now, and she told me of the cancer that Angie was battling again....and that it was probably terminal. We got the chance to visit her King City room twice before she passed. The first time, we had a great visit with her - sharing stories and joking about her new hair that was returning after chemo. She was very thin and a bit slow in her movements, but she still had her wit and an unrepentant geek vibe - with a lifesize standup of a cast member from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in her corner. I remember hugging her frail frame as we said our goodbyes.
On our second visit, Angie was asleep and we sat there talking to her parent who looked tired, but happy to see us. We went on about her life and laughed as she lay there - popbottle glasses on and mouth open - with the spikes of her hair looking like a crewcut. She looked like a serenely sleeping military-type circa 1954 - as we left her videos and flowers for her to enjoy.
That was the last time we saw her.
Although the death of someone you know is always shocking in its own way, there is a comfort in knowing that her suffering is over and that she is free.
If only she could blog about the afterlife.
R.I.P. - Angie 6/9/2005
Angie used to meet up with a crew known as the Portland Bloggers. We held court a Kell's on the first Friday of the month....talking about our geeky selves and occasionally making connections through rambling lifewords thrown up on websites. She was a thin drink of water, with a smile on her face and penchant for science fiction. Our kind of gal. This was 2002 - and our lives were still beginning.
As time wore on, I fell out of synch with the group. My entrance into parenthood in 2003 made the attending those monthly meetings a bit more difficult. Time passed and I kept track through Jenn - who emerged as good friend outside of the blogging circle.
It was through Jenn that Angie came back into my life. Jenn and I work together now, and she told me of the cancer that Angie was battling again....and that it was probably terminal. We got the chance to visit her King City room twice before she passed. The first time, we had a great visit with her - sharing stories and joking about her new hair that was returning after chemo. She was very thin and a bit slow in her movements, but she still had her wit and an unrepentant geek vibe - with a lifesize standup of a cast member from Buffy the Vampire Slayer in her corner. I remember hugging her frail frame as we said our goodbyes.
On our second visit, Angie was asleep and we sat there talking to her parent who looked tired, but happy to see us. We went on about her life and laughed as she lay there - popbottle glasses on and mouth open - with the spikes of her hair looking like a crewcut. She looked like a serenely sleeping military-type circa 1954 - as we left her videos and flowers for her to enjoy.
That was the last time we saw her.
Although the death of someone you know is always shocking in its own way, there is a comfort in knowing that her suffering is over and that she is free.
If only she could blog about the afterlife.
R.I.P. - Angie 6/9/2005
1 Comments:
Wonderful eulogy, Greg. I'm still in shock. (reaching for tissue)
By illusionaire, at 7:06 AM
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