Rest In Peace, Aussiegirl

I have a sad duty to perform on this cold and dreary January morning; I must pay homage to the passing of a dear friend. Aussiegirl, the creator and driving force behind Ultima Thule has gone out from us. She had been suffering from Pulmonary Fibrosis and had recently undergone surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from her uterus. The tumor had started to metastasize, and Aussiegirl was going to have to take a course in chemotherapy once she recovered from the surgery. Unfortunately, the PF made that difficult, and she had to be hospitalized last week because she was growing progressively weaker. She passed away around two p.m. yesterday (eastern standard time).

She was a very special person, and she touched many of our lives-in fact, she had friends throughout the world and her influence for good was truly global. Her life read like a great historical novel; she lived in a relocation camp in Italy after the Second World War, since her parents, having endured the Great Famine in Ukraine under Stalin and the repressions of the Nazis, followed the German army as they retreated lest they be killed by the victorious Bolsheviks, she immigrated to Australia, then, finally, settled here in America. Her gregarious nature won her friends everywhere, and I doubt that there is a continent (except maybe Antarctica) where someone isn`t mourning her passing!

She was one of the sweetest, kindest, gentlest souls I have been priveledged to know, although I had never met her in person. We used to have long internet talks, some of which would continue for weeks at a time! I was always delighted to hear from her, since she was such an open and decent person. She was also razor sharp and extremely eloquent, and the world has truly lost a beacon in the darkness with her passing! I considered her one of my best friends.

She was also the very first fan of Birdblog, and I would have given up on this thing long ago had it not been for her! She inspired me, she encouraged me, and she consoled me when things weren`t so good; I am very grateful to have had a friend like her.

Aussiegirl had an abiding fascination with life, and a joy which marked her as special. She loved science and culture, history and music and cats. She was, in many ways, a Renaissance Woman. She never let her illness get her down.

Her husband took good care of her in her last years, and, although I have never spoken with him, I know him to be a very decent man; Aussiegirl loved and adored him, and they were the best of friends. I want to extend my deepest sympathy to him; I can`t imagine what he is going through. I want him to know that he is in our prayers, and that his beloved wife is in the arms of the Lord.

Aussiegirl is not truly gone; her spirit lives on in her writing, and in the positive impact she made on so many of us. She was a beacon of light to those of us sailing the dark and stormy seas of this world, and we will never forget her! So many lives have been changed for the better because of her. What better legacy can someone have?

I may have missed my chance to meet her in this world, but I know I`ll have my chance in the next, and I know that day will be beautiful because we`ll both see things in their entirety, see the wonder that was her life and our friendship without the gloomy opacity that our physical existence imposes. That, too, is a fine gift that our friend has yet to bestow on us all! Still, until that day comes, we`re going to miss her...

So, Aussiegirl, rest in peace. Your life and your work on this Earth have earned you that right!