One week ago this afternoon, the world became a little more shadowed as a brilliant soul passed through the veil.
Kathryn Ann Fernquist Hinds.
She was a shiny person. I never had a moment with her that wasn't brilliant. Her smile, laugh, wit, intelligence, and vision made life a finer thing.
I didn't get to know her for very long, and we met because her husband Arthur is a musician (a damned fine one) and we used to play some of the same gigs. Honestly, I can't remember when I met either of them. They've just...always been there. Arthur and Kathryn. Kathryn and Arthur.
For the last few years we've been neighbors at PSG, one of the events I regularly attend. I liked listening to their banter and they tolerated my occasional interjections. They shared space, let me feed them, Kathryn let me fuss over her and we shared water. Seeing her in the audience when we played together for Bardapalooza was a treat. She truly shared in the music in a way that was rare and beautiful.
Some relationships defy the odds, defy definition or explanation. Some relationships are just so...perfectly imperfect? Imperfectly perfect? So damned marvelous that when we see them, we can't help saying "There. That's what is could be, what it should be, what I want it to be..."
Those relationships are rare. Arthur and Kathryn had what I aspire to. Oh the laughter, the love...how it enveloped them, and everyone nearby. They shared unstintingly.
I always told her that I adore her, that she is one of my favorite people. She was. Is. Will likely always be.
Her heart, her magnificent, wise, kind, compassionate, fragile, dysfunctional heart, it couldn't survive the surgery she needed to keep it ticking.
One less drumming, thrumming beat echoing in the ether. One less laugh reverberating in the circle.
I find myself wondering why, in a world full of horrid people, full of cruel, selfish, ugly-souled assholes, why did we have to lose one of the best people I have ever known?
It isn't right.
Oh, Arthur.
If I who didn't know her nearly enough can hurt so...oh...I can't even touch imagining how those who knew her long and well must feel.
Me, I feel robbed of something precious.
She belonged to a community vast and varied, and the hole she leaves is immeasurable.
I posted this on Facebook when I found out:
Kathryn Ann Fernquist Hinds.
She was a shiny person. I never had a moment with her that wasn't brilliant. Her smile, laugh, wit, intelligence, and vision made life a finer thing.
I didn't get to know her for very long, and we met because her husband Arthur is a musician (a damned fine one) and we used to play some of the same gigs. Honestly, I can't remember when I met either of them. They've just...always been there. Arthur and Kathryn. Kathryn and Arthur.
For the last few years we've been neighbors at PSG, one of the events I regularly attend. I liked listening to their banter and they tolerated my occasional interjections. They shared space, let me feed them, Kathryn let me fuss over her and we shared water. Seeing her in the audience when we played together for Bardapalooza was a treat. She truly shared in the music in a way that was rare and beautiful.
Some relationships defy the odds, defy definition or explanation. Some relationships are just so...perfectly imperfect? Imperfectly perfect? So damned marvelous that when we see them, we can't help saying "There. That's what is could be, what it should be, what I want it to be..."
Those relationships are rare. Arthur and Kathryn had what I aspire to. Oh the laughter, the love...how it enveloped them, and everyone nearby. They shared unstintingly.
I always told her that I adore her, that she is one of my favorite people. She was. Is. Will likely always be.
Her heart, her magnificent, wise, kind, compassionate, fragile, dysfunctional heart, it couldn't survive the surgery she needed to keep it ticking.
One less drumming, thrumming beat echoing in the ether. One less laugh reverberating in the circle.
I find myself wondering why, in a world full of horrid people, full of cruel, selfish, ugly-souled assholes, why did we have to lose one of the best people I have ever known?
It isn't right.
Oh, Arthur.
If I who didn't know her nearly enough can hurt so...oh...I can't even touch imagining how those who knew her long and well must feel.
Me, I feel robbed of something precious.
She belonged to a community vast and varied, and the hole she leaves is immeasurable.
I posted this on Facebook when I found out:
Hail Kathryn.
Your light will long linger.
I will carry you with me always, and when I shine I will shine with you, sending your light outward. You are one of the best people I’ve known in my lifetime, and I’m better for the knowing.
May your journey to the other side be peaceful and easy. May you leave behind all memory of pain, sorrow, and suffering. May you carry with you all memories of love and laughter. May you be met with joy and fellowship by those who went before you, and when you return to the circle, may we who loved you know you once more.
I raise a glass and toast you, feisty, kind, shiny, wise, compassionate, creative, encouraging, goddess of a woman.
Hail Kathryn. Hail the traveler.
Your light will long linger.
I will carry you with me always, and when I shine I will shine with you, sending your light outward. You are one of the best people I’ve known in my lifetime, and I’m better for the knowing.
May your journey to the other side be peaceful and easy. May you leave behind all memory of pain, sorrow, and suffering. May you carry with you all memories of love and laughter. May you be met with joy and fellowship by those who went before you, and when you return to the circle, may we who loved you know you once more.
I raise a glass and toast you, feisty, kind, shiny, wise, compassionate, creative, encouraging, goddess of a woman.
Hail Kathryn. Hail the traveler.
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