User blog comment:Garr9988/Not Sure How to Title This/@comment-24588058-20170815051541

It's really sad to hear about this death. I've only had one close death in my family: my grandmother on my mom's side (her husband passed away before I was born, so I never got to know him). We got that call at 6 am. I remember it was a school day, and I was completely devastated. We went to see her a couple of times a year, sometimes more if we could (she lived about two and a half hours away). I honestly went to school so bummed out and unactive people thought I was sick and dying (I usually ran around and was so happy, it was apparently an unnatural sight to see). I didn't feel better until lunchtime, when one of my friends, in an effort to cheer me up, kept saying "Beiber fever". I thought she was saying "beaver fever", but the end result was the same. She cheered me up when I was at my lowest, and I am truly grateful. While I still miss her so much, I know she's in a better place.

I've been extremely lucky. I haven't had anyone I was particularly close to die, though a couple of family members have. My mom's brother and his son's wife within the past year and a half. That was a killer. I wasn't particularly close to her brother (I met him a few times, but didn't know him well) and never met the son's wife at all (she left behind her husband and three kids, ages 8, 5 and 3), but I still felt sorry for them.

While I can't say that I can feel empathy (or is it sympathy? I always get the two mixed up.) for your loss, I do sympathize with you (or is it empathize? I'm basically trying to say that while I can't know exactly how you feel, I do feel for your loss). You guys are the only internet connection I have, and I honestly prefer it that way. I get to be part of an intelligent community, and while we sometimes annoy each other, we're still together after all this time. Some of us are around a lot, and some of us only show up once in a while. But we still have a connection, even if most of us have never really met each other. We're such a small community that we're nice and tight, and it's better than a community of 50 any day!

Garr, you're one of the nicest people I've ever not met (I hope that makes sense). You do so much around here that it's hard to imagine where we'd be without your presence! There definitely wouldn't be nearly the amount of things done! I know you'll get through this, and I hope that we can all stay together for a good time yet!