URGENT- Please Pray For Celesta!

[The Good Michael]

very sorry I haven't been following the boards much. It seems when i do something bad happens...and I am sorry about Linda. I wish the surviving family a quick journey from inconsolable sorrow to joyous remembrance.

Also, Hunter, I didn't know you were ill, but I do sincerely wish you a speedy recovery. You are a great member of Casebook.

Mike

[Vila]

Lyn & I were lucky enough to get to meet Linda & Tom several years ago. They drove over to a steampunk meet-up in Atlanta that just happened to be close to their home. They had no real interest in steampunk when they got there, but after meeting our friends in the Atlanta group, they began to see our fascination with the clothing and how much fun it could be. After the meet-up at the coffee shop, the four of us sat down to a very nice luncheon at the pizza place next door. We talked for hours on end about everything under the sun. Finally, they had to set out for home, so we said our goodbyes.

I have to say that Linda was the most civilized person I've ever had to debate on many a subject that would normally have led to acrimony. She was ever a Lady, in the old-fashioned sense of the word. Tom proved to be possessed by a subtle wit, impressive education, and better manners than I've seen in many a year. They were well matched, in every way.

So while Linda's untimely death has brought me to tears, the joy of having known her is forever present...

Pardon me. I seem to have something in my eye...

[Hunter]

Also, Hunter, I didn't know you were ill, but I do sincerely wish you a speedy recovery. You are a great member of Casebook.

Hi Mike,

I hope you didn't get my repost of one of Celesta's confused. Had some difficulties lately, but I'm fine... I think.

Take care Mike.

[c.d.]

So sorry to hear the news about Linda. I had prayed for her recovery but now know that she has passed on and is now at peace.

Maybe the best way to honor her would simply be to act a little nicer to everyone around us and remember that we are all in this together.

c.d.

[Archaic]

Linda In The Rockies

Hi c.d.

Yes, I hope people can remember Linda by being kinder to one another, and to the world at large.

I'm posting a photo of Linda that I really love. It was taken in a geology studies field camp in the Rocky Mtns near Taos, New Mexico when she was in college.

I think it's so beautiful. This is sort of how I picture her now, at peace in a field of flowers.

Take care,
Bunny

[Robert]

That's a lovely photo, Bunny. Thank you for posting it.

[Carol]

Hi Bunny,

I'm so sorry I don't know what to say. I only knew Linda slightly but she certainly made me feel that she was a very lovely person. She wrote me a really kind private mail when I was so upset here on Casebook. I can't tell you just how much I appreciated that!

I only found out she has passed away in these last few minutes and I'm crying as I write this.

Thank you for keeping us informed about Linda. Judging from the photograph you posted she was beautiful on the outside, too.

With love,
Carol and Per-Åke xxxxx

[Archaic]

Celesta was truly an inspired choice of name, for nobody shone more brightly or was more of a sparkle from heaven than Linda.

You are so right Jen!

A couple of Linda's friends have pm'd me saying they are going to make a donation in her name to their local no-kill animal shelter. I know how happy she will be about that! Saving neglected and homeless animals was one of her great passions in life.

I'm going to share to share the link to this thread for Linda with her husband Tom and sister Pam, so they can read all the wonderful things Linda's friends have said about her. I hope it will comfort them as it does me.

Take care,
Bunny

[Jason]

Hi c.d.

Yes, I hope people can remember Linda by being kinder to one another, and to the world at large.

I'm posting a photo of Linda that I really love. It was taken in a geology studies field camp in the Rocky Mtns near Taos, New Mexico when she was in college.

I think it's so beautiful. This is sort of how I picture her now, at peace in a field of flowers.

Take care,
Bunny

its so stunning it defies belief......

[Robert]

She looks like an angel in heaven, doesn't she.

[Natalie Severn]

Thanks Bunny-a lovely photo x

[Archaic]

A Donation In Linda's Name

She looks like an angel in heaven, doesn't she.

Yes she does, Robert! I love that photo.

Some friends have just let me know that they are making a generous donation to Pat and Rich Wagner's Horse Rescue, Rainier Hoof Recovery.
I know every penny will go to good use. It's staggering how much hay is needed to feed 31 horses, and how much veterinary care they need to recover their health. Linda and I really admire their devotion to the animals. Happy rescue kitties lounge around on the hay bales like they own the place, it's so cute! Miniature donkeys the size of my dog hang out with 2,000 lb draft horses. I love seeing happy and secure animals of different species living peacefully with one another.

Another donation option is Hurricane Sandy. The Red Cross needs help caring for all the people who need food, clothing, and shelter, and there is also a big effort underway to help reunite people with their pets. Some people had to evacuate without going home first and their pets were left behind. Linda and I both donated to help care for lost and homeless pets after Hurricane Katrina, and I know she would be donating now if she was here.

If you want to help the pets you can donate through the Humane Society, Petsmart, and various other charities; just google it.

Thanks and take care,
Bunny

[Archaic]

A Message From Linda's Husband Tom

Hi everyone. I forwarded the Casebook link for Linda's thread to Tom, and here is what he wrote me:

Thanks for the link and I read every one of the posts -- am sure Linda has too!

I can't begin it now, but perhaps after some period of healing I would like your permission to forward the link of these posts to my cousin so she can see how much love there was and is for Linda.

Also, I want to thank everyone on the Casebook site for all the kindness they have shown.

For those who prayed for her I want you to know that those prayers WERE answered. Not the way we wanted, but the way she needed.

I thank you all.

--Tom

Thanks everyone.
Bunny

[Limehouse]

That's a lovely post from Tom, Bunny. Thanks so much for keeping us up to date with things. That photograph was so beautiful. It really helped me to connect the person I knew only through words with the person herself.

I am going down to the Wood Green Animal Shelter near Papworth in Cambridgeshire tomorrow and I shall make a donation in Linda's memory and say a special hello to the horses and donkeys there for her.

Julie

[Errata]

There's a stray dog that runs around the neighborhood. An odd little sheltie/pug mix that was abandoned. He always looks so happy, so I never though much about him. But he was in the parking lot today, and I thought "Celesta would want him to have a home". So I brought him in.

So now there's a dog in my house, and in my moment of warmheartedness I forgot that I have two cats, and that I don't much like dogs. So he's camped out in the office until Wednesday when the rescue organization can pick him up. Thank god my fiance grew up with dogs, or I'm not sure he wouldn't have been happier on the street.

And my fiance just sighed, and said to me "It's good to want to help, but make sure to help in a way you can live with."

But he's cute, and friendly, and I named him Kosmo because he lived on the streets and ate garbage. And it seemed to go well with Celesta.

But next time, I'm totally giving money. Whims are lovely. Just not always practical. I have a feeling that this lovely lady whom I barely knew is laughing really hard at me as I gaze at this creature like it's a facehugger from Aliens. Poorly planned on my part.

It makes me laugh. I thought it might make you guys laugh too. Which is a good thing.