Monday, November 24, 2014

How I Miss You in 2014

Here we are at the 2014 edition of the
In truth, I don't really have a lot to add to what I said in 2012 and 2013. I don't have any new people/blogs to add to those lists, and I figure if you want to see who I talked about before, since they are still the same, you can click the links and go back and look.

However, I do want to highlight one blog in particular that I miss, because it's not coming back.

A few months ago, we lost Tina Downey of Life Is Good. She was having some health issues, but she didn't really let on as to how serious they were, so it came as quite a shock to pretty much everyone who knew her online, I think, when she died. We weren't expecting it, and we weren't prepared. Not that you can ever really be prepared for anyone's death other than your own. I listed Tina last year in my "blogs I would miss" section of this blogfest and, now that she's gone, I do miss her. I miss her joyous outlook that she held to despite her health problems. I miss her posts about what it was like to adjust to moving to the United States. I miss arguing with her about math. I miss her comments.

I think, considering her last post was within a week of her death, that she probably misses blogging. She had no intention to quit. It's too bad the world wide web is still only the world wide. I'm sure that once we figure out how to go beyond, we'll find that she's out there somewhere still blogging away, and we'll have tons of posts to catch up on.

This blogfest has been brought to you by Andrew Leon (that's me), Alex Cavanaugh, and Matthew MacNish. You can find the other participants on the list below:


27 comments:

  1. I couldn't do my post today without mentioning Tina. Between the A to Z Team and the Fellowship of the Dragon, conversations with her were daily occurrences. Now it's so quiet. I miss her so much.

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  2. Tina will be missed sorely! She was a beam of light and brought excitement to everything.

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  3. I miss Tina too. I started following her blog less than a year before she passed away and in that short time, she held a special place in my heart and still does. She was such an inspiration to those of us with health issues, always a bright light.

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  4. So sad about Tina. I didn't know her as well as some, but she was great. Always so energized and helpful with A to Z.

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  5. I miss her all the time. Amazing what an impact she had on so many of us.
    Thank you for hosting.
    Heather

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  6. Hi Andrew - like you I couldn't really add to the last years listings - in fact I could: but forgot .. and knew Tina was the first as a great loss, and Lenny as a definite if he disappeared from the blogging world ..

    So same thoughts from you .. Tina bubbled away for us all - and then so sadly slipped away ... Thanks for hosting .. Hilary

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  7. I wasn't a regular follower of Tina's, but it was profound when she passed and everyone paid such an amazing tribute to her.

    Just a testament to the power of blogging.

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  8. I miss her (and her mile-long comments) too, and I still regret that we never got to go grab that beer we'd always said we'd get. She wasn't just an awesome blogger; she was an awesome person.

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  9. Tina has left a hole in many people's lives.

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  10. I didn't know Tina, but many speak so fondly of her and miss her dearly.

    The Blog I miss the most is my friend "The Laughing Ferret" He was blindingly intelligent and a gifted painter.

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  11. It's sad when an empty space is left behind ...

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  12. Lovely post honoring Tina, Andrew. I wasn't fortunate to know about her until her death. I read many tributes to her, especially from IWSG members. She obviously was an exceptional human being.
    I too, have a degree in English and intended to write, but real life got in the way. Now that I'm retired, I quit retirement and began tackling that writing goal. I haven't published a book yet, but I will! It's nice to meet you, and happy writing to you!

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  13. Alex: Maybe we should have called today "I miss Tina Day."

    Dani: And math!

    Elsie: I wish I had known how serious they were. The health issues, I mean.

    Matthew: Yeah, she seems to have been a driving force.

    Heather: It is amazing.

    Hilary: I didn't forget, but I couldn't think of anyone that really belonged alongside her.

    Jay: yeah, it is.

    ABftS: She had great comments. Too bad you never got to that beer.

    Susan: Yeah...

    Anne: Has he quit blogging? I used to stop by there every so often but haven't in a while.

    Margo: It is.

    Fundy: "You quit being banished?"
    I'd quit retirement for writing, too.

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  14. It was awfully sad losing Tina I agree,
    I do thank you for visiting my blog and think Alex, you and others do a grand job with the Blogfest.

    Yvonne.

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  15. Tina is definitely missed by a lot of people!

    Thanks for co-hosting this blog fest!

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  16. NASHVILLECATS: Thanks for participating!

    Sherry: Yes, she is.
    Darn her!

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  17. I got to know Tina the year I was an A to Z Challenge co-host and she was always so nice.

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  18. Diane: She could be feisty, but she was always nice.

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  19. I too still miss Tina, she who pointed out how we do use algebra in every day life, but just didn't realise it. She of the bubbly (to quote Hilary) personality. I have never met anyone who was so continuously upbeat although she was obviously suffering more than we knew.

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  20. Aw :( I'm glad you honored her in your post today. I miss her, too.

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  21. A lovely tribute to Tina!
    Thank you for co-hosting the blogfest.

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  22. Jo: I still don't agree with her about the math stuff. I'll go weeks without using any real math (other than helping my daughter with her homework which completely doesn't count).

    Shannon: yeah...

    Michelle: Thanks.

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  23. Indeed. If anyone is blogging in the beyond, it'd be Tina.

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