The Loss

It's such a terrible thing to lose someone and it isn't that I ever met him in person. We talked on message boards, via mail and in messenger and he was just like an Uncle to me in every sense of the word. He was a good man with many friends and due to his voluntary work after his retirement many children's eyes regarded him with admiration and love. I met him online a few years ago on a message board called "ACCESS DENIED" and I thought he was comical and yet charming. We migrated to another forum and I was so entertained by what we'd said over time that I have kept my own records of our private and public conversations.

We even contributed, along with others, in collectively writing parts for a story we called 'Dreamscape'. This was a world where we ourselves became the very characters of that fantasy where dragons, swords & magic reigned. He came here and visited my blog and offered me friendly comments but more than anything else, he offered me an insight and valuable advice in private and he treated me like I was his own daughter. He saw me in my worst moments and consoled me and he saw me in my best of times and smiled & shared my joys. I loved that crazy old man. His passing leaves a emptiness in my life that hurts and I know that no one else can ever fill that place. It was for him alone. I sit and reflect on all the things he shared with me, jokes, advice, comfort, hope. His written words are a testament left behind and I value them as wonderful little treasures.

He had a diary online and if I look through it, the first mention he made in there of me was...

... Then there’s the little girl in Japan a star of brilliance and who seems to be rising, to have everything. But I wonder; who does she share this with? I pray that she will find someone to fill a void that I feel is in her life. I want her to have someone of her own, no, someone who is a part of her, so that she can laugh with him in the joys of her triumphs and cry with him at her disappointments. “It is not good to be alone.”

Here was a man who often put his thoughts and his feeling into words. I was never alone with friends like these in real life and across the internet.

He passed away peacefully last month aged eighty five. Quietly in his sleep and surrounded by his family, he could walk tall as he left us knowing that he had achieved many wonderful things here and he will be fondly remembered by so many people. It is we who are left behind suffering the pain of his loss from our lives that must find consolation within all that is left behind.

His name was Harold Paraway and to all his friends he was simply "Skip!"
But 'simply Skip' was a great man indeed. It was my honor and privilege to know him.
I miss you Uncle Skip. I would like to thank you for all your kind words and thoughts for me and you did make a positive impact in my life. Thank you.
Ours to bear is the greatest pain and sense of loss. We look for the silent comfort of those left behind to come together and share our fond memories of him and this is the greatest test of whatever faith we take to our hearts.

I offer my sincerest condolences to his wife Doris and their family.

Thanks also to Ron for his kind words.

The portent of winter chills
Cruel ice bites my soul
It finds the emptiness magnified
A tear frozen, like a memory
Soft snow falls, my impression remains
You left me old friend on this seasons end
But my memories of you are my warmth
Your embrace is my coat
Your hand on my shoulder is my comfort
Your words never forgotten.