This weekend, I received some heartbreaking news about a long-time online friend from my favorite 3d platform called Activeworlds. She went by Dearheart in AW, but her real name was Fran Pagdin. She was a Retired Psychiatric nurse who lived in Australia. Though we were on different continents, and we were over a decade apart in age she was like an older sister to me. We originally met back in the mid to late 1990s online, though back then it was more of just an acquaintance, through the years we grew closer. The last 7 years of our friendship were the closest and the most endearing to me.

She was quite artistic in nature and that showed in her building style within active worlds and in the mosaics, she did in the real world as well. She was a very fair person, but she also was a warrior at heart. She quickly would come to defend a close friend or set her friends straight when they would go astray. She was a straightforward no nonsense kind of person, and she had a very sharp wit about her as well.

She had pride in her Son, Grandaughter, and daughter-in-law. She always would talk about them with me and you could hear the love and pride in how she spoke about them. She was a great part of my life even if it was only online and never in person. This goes to show it does not matter how one is a friend, be it online or in person. I will be sad for a long time for the loss of her companionship, though I am relieved she no longer has to suffer the pain she was in.

Remember to cherish your friends, be they online or in real life. There is no guarantee that any of us will see the next day. For good friends are hard to find, and even harder to find as you get older. Be Blessed and live long my friends.