I just received the news that Michelle died this weekend. Sad news. We had a date to have lunch in July. It would have been the first time we met face-to-face. Now we never will.
Michelle E. Goodrich (Mandarin Meg) was an open hearted woman, enormously creative, technically astute and interested in all that was going on around her. I will miss her.
I was privileged to interview her for my blog three years ago. The interview is here.
Rest in peace, Michelle.
oh no nonono
Frank,
I’m putting links to the various Obits for Meg as soon as I see them. they’re attached to the end of my Obit. Jeez, why did have to be Meg?
We were just planning for her to visit us too:(
I must say I’ve spent the evening in a state of shock, Frank, but am slowly coming to appreciate the enormity of our loss.
As much as we can accept that it’s now meg’s time to take a break, it’s difficult to accept that while we’ll no longer hear her voice, she’ll always – in some way and even if only in the code – be with us.
Um, yeah, you mentioned something about ‘letting go’ at Jeneane’s – I’m not good at letting go and, in meg’s case… I probably won’t do so for some time to come.
What a loss. A damned shame.
Mike – we must if you accept the existence of a spirit/soul call it what you will. In many traditions it’s the failure or reluctance of those left behind to accept the unacceptable that causes that spirit to be held back from reaching wherever it is it must go. Let her go and find her peace. It does not mean forgetting her. Letting go is an act of love and is damned hard to do when it is someone you care about.
Frank,
I never had the good fortune to know Michelle but heard so much about her through other bloggers, including you. My thoughts are with all of you who are grieving Michelle’s passing.
Tamar
frank I mistakenly sent you stu’s request – I think in the rush to do sheet – but I feel the same as all of you how do we recreate that which was what we know is very cumbersome something of the nature of this woman we know as meg.. is that net neutallity?
Peter, I forwarded your message to Stu.
what the fuck? grieving a loss causes a spirit to be held back? Either that’s a crock o’ new age, or there’s a bloatload of really bored spirits waiting for me to get done with what I’m still grappling with. Add one more in Meg. Sorry for the delay guys. I’m a late bloomer.
In my tradition when your dog gets hit by an ambulance blowing its siren at top speed hell bent for bardo, and your friend dies about the same time, then its likely that your friend will enter your dog’s battered body and by nursing her back to wellness you will soon have a dog that can help you blog and will often look at you like she wishes she could speak english… but wait, she did that before Charon keel-hauled her. So I’m not sure what I believe, but Molly has been admiring the birds at the feeder today in a bemused and appreciative sort of way. Maybe I’ll lend her the camera while she’s on the mend.
this is so sad…
Yes. Yes it is.
Jeneane – you misunderstood me or I misunderstood what Mike meant. Grieving and letting go are two separate things not to be confused with each other. Letting go means accepting the reality of a tragic event, moving on but not forgetting, cherishing the memories and love of that friendship. I never said you shouldn’t grieve the loss of Meg.
Hey doug–sorry i was so crass. But I accepted it the minute I found out. It’s not OKAY, but I accepted it.
The thing is: you can’t let go until you grieve. the bypass doesn’t work. pay me now or pay me later. the ‘later’ comes back in the form of stuck grief, which we know by a moe familiar name: depression.
ergo, how we got here in the first place.
((plus in this instance i had some concerns and information i wanted to share and i did))
that’s all.
Interesting that AKMA suggested honoring her by using what she left us — the creativity of her codes — because I started to do that just last night. We honor Meg by demonstrating how much we value what she valued. While very few of us get what we deserve, Meg got an overabundance of what she didn’t at all deserve (if I’m understanding her documentation of her divorce process). Such overwhelming injustice!!!!
I hope that someone with more talent than me (and that would be just about any of you :)) will mine Meg’s site for all her tips from day one and put them up somewhere permanently before the site goes away
Hey Jeneane – that’s OK – I was not as insensitive to the depths of people’s feelings as I would have hoped to be. I’m not a good communicator.
whoops that came out wrong 🙂 I meant as sensitive – sheesh it’s friday and it’s beenm a rough week – I really meant I’ve not been as sensitive to people’s feelings as I should have been.
I have to get that comment editing feature from Shelley…
I am a late Blog bloomer and I can’t tell you how much the wondrous ideas and instructions at Mandarin Design by Michelle has encouraged me onward.
I posted two articles about Michelle’s website without realising that Michelle left a legacy.
Now, I have created a special link for Michelle at my Blog for her great work and truly masterful knowledge that she has given to bloggers universally.
We miss you Michelle!