Can I kick it? No, you can't.

A very good friend of the family died today, and her name was Cherie. She was a good person, very selfless, and was the type of person who would give you the last bit of food she had if you were hungry. She did not have an easy life, and like most of us, often made her life harder by her own decisions.

Cherie was not very old, but she had diabetes, and some other medical problems, and I'm sure it will be revealed that these contributed to her all-too-early death. In July, she had an operation to relieve her of some of her terrible pain she had experienced for years, and it seemed to have worked, as she had a lot less pain once she had begun to recover from the surgery. The fact that she could have had this procedure done years ago but for bureaucratic red tape is something that I will not forgive. She could have had pain-free years instead of mere weeks at the end of her life, but I'm sure someone got themselves a bonus out of the repeated denials of service.

Cherie had, in the past two weeks, sold off a large amount of her own possessions, as she had decided to move into a shelter rather than continue to pay rent on the place she lived in. I had made the offer to her to move in where I live for as long as she wanted, but she wouldn't have it that way, even though I know she'd have insisted I take her up on the same offer if the situation was reversed. She was stubborn, but she invariably did what she felt was right, and that was always what was best for others.

Fortunately, I got to see her only yesterday. I didn't say goodbye with any more emphasis than I normally did. I knew she was tired from selling all of her stuff, and I think she was going to get to bed after that. From what I can infer, she either died late last night or this morning, and even though she was alone when she died, she was the solitary type, mostly. She was probably happy to have the peace and quiet at the time.

I'm going to miss her a lot, for the reasons I've mentioned, and because of the fact that even though she wasn't naive, she was never cynical. I can't relate to it, but I can appreciate it, and I did.

Cherie, you will be missed. I don't really believe in an afterlife, but at times like this, I hope there is something nice waiting for you. Maybe being out of pain is enough, but you deserve more. Rest in peace.

Sunday, September 02, 2007