Sadness

Thursday, Jul. 07, 2005
7:17 PM

My thoughts today are with those in London who were killed or injured in today's bombings. I am really glad that my friends and their families in the UK are all right. A great feeling of relief amid the sorrow that such things can continue to happen.

I have another reason for sorrow today. I have a friend in California - I consider her my friend even though we have only met twice. She used to be one of the moderators on the mosaic artists' Yahoo group that I'm on, a group of some 3000 people. We corresponded pretty regularly when the list was much smaller. She's also a former board member of SAMA, which is how I actually met her face to face - at the first conference I went to in Miami two years ago. We met again this past March at the conference that I helped put on.

Robin is a great person - sweet, kind, cheerful and always willing to help. She's answered multiple beginners' questions over and over without losing her patience or grace. She's a darn good mosaic artist to boot. She has been a true asset to the mosaic world. And she's dying of stomach cancer.

I heard a couple of months ago that she was ill and going into the hospital. Unfortunately, due to the vagaries of email and crashing computers, I lost access to the email with her address and I didn't get a chance to send her a get-well card. I feel ashamed that I didn't take the time to track it down before now. Today I got an update on her condition - there is nothing more the doctors can do for her and she is going home next week to prepare to die. We don't know how much longer she has, but I feel a deep need to tell her how much she has meant to me and to the world of mosaic art, before it's too late.

I hope her passing is a peaceful one.

P.S. To any of my friends who smoke, quit. Please. I don't know if Robin's illness was directly caused by her smoking habit, but I would bet money there's a connection there somewhere.