My Friend Danielle

You may have noticed an absence of new material over the last few days here at Casual Soapbox, and I'd like to apologize. My friend Danielle, I learned Monday night, had passed away on Sunday. I found it difficult to concentrate on much else during the next few days, and I wanted to write a few words here to help me to cope. I do realize this is a little different from what I've written about here in the past, but I feel it's important. I promise I'll return to my normal posting habits soon.

Danielle was a smart and funny woman, who was always smiling, and lit up the room when she entered. She had beautiful red hair that turned gold in the sunlight, and held herself with confidence and charm. She had a sharp wit, and was a terrific storyteller. She was a loving mother, wife, sister, daughter, and friend who always put others before herself. Twice, she picked up everything and moved to be closer to relatives who learned they had cancer.

I knew Danielle and her husband Ben through my brother Kyle, who worked with Ben. We had them over to our house about once or twice a month for dinner and games. They lived close to us, and we occasionally ran into them at nearby restaurants. Ben and Danielle visited Kyle and his family in the hospital when Noah was born. And when Kyle and I were furiously fighting the discriminatory Proposition 2 last November, they were right there with us, distributing leaflets.

Ben and Danielle have been an integral part of our Dungeons and Dragons game, and you can read her summary of the early part of the campaign in her story, "1st Day of the Apocalypse" at my campaign-related blog, "World of Aethe". She loved her character Elissa Harmonant (a human paladin), and told her brother all about her. She would tell me after the game how much fun she had, and I'm truly glad to have had the chance to play with her. She always made the game more fun for everyone. Games like D&D can be a great escape from life's problems, and knowing now that she had been in pain, I only wish I could have made it more so.

I will greatly miss my friend Danielle. And she and Ben will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Danielle's obituary can be found here, at the website of the funeral home of Wilke-Clay-Fish in Austin, TX.