The Steady Flame

My best friend of nearly 15 years is moving away from here to be with the man she has loved for 16 years. She phoned me the other day and we went to our usual place to have lunch and discuss it all. She was glowing .. excitedly .. happy .. happy in a way I have not seen in her before .. and I couldn't be happier for her. :)

She has waited so long .. mostly for his life to fall into line .. quietly living her life here .. while he finished up the business of his life there .. he lives a thousand miles away .. and met when he was in this area doing contract work for the power expansion 16 years ago. Both have been single all this time .. she suddenly widowed after 20 years of marriage to a man she adored .. he .. a widower after seeing his wife through a long illness. She has believed in this .. in him .. even when she had way more reasons to throw her hands up and walk away .. move on .. and forget it all.

They have led these divergent lives .. their paths crossing from time to time .. always loving each other .. yet knowing it could not be their time at those times. I have seen her through several relationships .. the trials with her children .. and the ailings of various friends and family .. watching her struggle to keep it all afloat .. and always .. ALWAYS .. keeping her grace .. her humor .. her dignity through it all.

She deserves this .. I've never met another with such a great capacity for kindness and caring .. her ability to put others before her .. to pull them under her wing .. nurturing .. guiding .. loving .. truly a woman with pure heart.

She is the best friend I've ever had .. kindred souls .. alternating between .. mother .. sister .. child .. mentor .. confidente .. offering a soft shoulder .. or the unvarnished truth .. depending on what was needed of the other in any given moment .. and she is the ONLY person alive that knows ALL of my secrets .. the greatest of my joys .. all of the longings of my heart .. the deepest of my pains .. all of those things that live inside us that we barely whisper to ourselves .. much less another .. she knows them all .. and has loved me in spite of it. LOL

I will miss her terribly .. but I think it's just the idea of the greater distance that will be between us now .. because she currently lives an hour and a half away from me .. and we mostly have stayed close over the phone .. yakkin' for hours on all things relevant on our respective sides of the handsets .. and getting together once a month or so to have lunch and go shopping.

Before we left the restaurant .. she reached across the table and touched my hand before pointing towards a table behind me .. she said .. "that's us you know" .. and I turned to see this elderly pair of ladies .. talking animatedly over their lunch .. and giggling over something silly .. best friends .. even in their 80's .. relaxing in the total comfort of each others space .. and sharing in that wonderfully unique aura that comes only from that special blending of each others energy .. something they share only with each other. We know that space well .. and I look forward to sharing more lunches .. in our shared aura .. well into our dottage. :)

There are just some flames that burn bright forever .. and ever .. and ever more .... no matter the distance. :)

A Cuppa Tea .. And A Few Thoughts .....

It was a perfectly gorgeous day today .. and I just had to take the time to sit outside on the back deck .. sip my tea .. take in that lovely sunshine .. and think on a few things.

I had an interesting conversation with a good friend of mine from Uru. I met her one of my first days in UU .. and we hit it off immediately .. a truly lovely person and kindred soul. :)

We were discussing Uru .. it's demise .. and the migration and re-settling into other online venues. I have not be in There as much lately .. and finally realized why that was. It is directly related to it being turned into some distorted reflection of Myst/Uru .. and tentatively relayed that revelation to her. She agreed .. with the statement that it's over .. it needs to be allowed to die .. and that people need to finally move on to something fresh and new. O_O LOL She has been as loyal a supporter as any .. she is certainly long time .. original beta .. prologue .. UU .. the works .. and worked overtime notifying friends to come back when UU arrived .. then D'mala .. and finally the second incarnation of Live. So her remark really threw me .. as much as I felt relief that she at the very least understood where I was coming from. :)

Certainly the creative abilities they encourage ingame promotes the idea of making the place the way YOU want it .. so this is in NO way intended to diminish the very hard work and wonderful talents of so many established there .. who make the amazing things that they do .. or put together the tours. It just seems though that building a substitute Myst/Uru .. though nice to have the vestiges around I guess .. seems to take away from the rest that is there TO do. For me anyway. :\

I love dearly my friends that I've made because we found our way into the shared world of Uru .. but .. thank God .. they continue to exist and thrive in worlds that do not have to have anything to do with Uru.

We spent the entire day in There with the tours a few weeks back .. and really wished .. that some of the things we had done had not been Myst/Uru specific. We visited mostly Myst/Uru themed hoods .. or those owned by people connected in some way to Myst/Uru. A few people asked about doing some other things .. and .. aside from dropping a few boards .. or packs .. or buggies .. to explore the above mentioned hoods .. we didn't.

I realize there is only so much time to fit things in .. but it was disappointing .. There has SO much more to do besides visiting Myst/Uru themed hoods. Some of these people needed to be taken to the 21st floor and handed a hoverboard .. and told to manipulate the arrow keys to do trick moves and 'meetcha at the bottom' as we rode them pell mell off the dive ramp .. or to one of the raceways in Saja to do laps on a buggy track .. or to Monkey Craters waaayyy cool Mayan themed paintball arena for a fast round of hilarious fun. There's stuff to DO in There .. besides cruise the lovely hoods.

I have spent countless hours exploring every inch of every island with every type of vehicle I have. I've tried out racing .. both time trials and against others. Browsed homes .. chatting with all kinds of different people from all over the world .. used my Teleporter scroll to visit every area I could find up in space .. played games .. got really into quests for a while .. joined groups for paintball .. just so many things .. and not a ONE had a thing to do with Myst/Uru and mostly were done on my own.

I have visited MOUL and UO .. and looked at the gaggle of threads by that few that are left that just cannot bring themselves to stop beating that poor dead horse called Uru .. dissecting .. questioning .. and some still faithfully lauding Cyan .. and come to the conclusion that it's time to bury the body .. stop robbing the noble IDEA of Uru of a respectable passing .. and find other things that make them happy. I mean .. there MUST be other things then just Uru they have/had in their lives .. wouldn't you think ?? O_o

I am over Uru .. at least all that has come to this point in the Live aspect of it .. a lot of people are over it .. I haven't visited either of those forums in a week now .. and have no desire to. It was a lovely idea .. this Uru .. a forever expanding world filled with ever more wonderfully written ages .. full of story .. and exploring .. and puzzling .. things to find and discover .. all that promise that never was .. never will be .. and doing it all with friends .. and I'm respectfully letting it go .. grateful for the friendships I have made .. the fun I did have .. and the magic that the core game .. yes GAME .. gave me .. and I'm happy to move on to new adventures online .. in new games .. and feel that magic that comes from the discoveries those new venues offer.

Hope to see you in any of those new places .. and if not there .. find those places that make YOU smile .. pique your interest .. and give you a glad heart .. because if it's not doing that .. then you need to find what does .. and head there. :)