We lost a great blogger and such a nice person that day, we lost a steemit legend. I met hem very early when I joined the blogging army. That time there wasn’t something like we have now as @theterminal but he was always there for advice and teaching the first few ropes.
We talked about what blog to make next and always about the engagement league, on sundays, getting the numbers and seeing the weekly changes. @abh12345 yep we did, bet you didn’t know you were talked about, behind your back. The cancer was not always a topic but it always accompanied you. Where ever you went. When you went for hospital visits and treatments, there was always a detailed report on the treatment and the lovely nurses that were taking care of you. And always an update on the beautiful quilts the mrs made for your blogs on monday in the needlework department of steem just to give her the recognition online she deserved.
But that constant factor of contact changed. Unexpected yet also a day you and me knew would come. We normally talked in dm and that day it had been 3 days of silence. I left messages and tried to stay positive. I checked discord a lot those 3 days. But somewhere deep inside I knew that didn’t add up to the normal engaging person you were and he was. That reminds me of my relationship now with @jamerussell, same respect and daily contact. Like with Wayne ( @wolfharts real name ) we have jokes that nobody understands. Don’t we james ? @jamerussell. That is what online friendships do, no issues about age, rase or whatever, plain old valuable friendship and honesty. Honesty is what I love, like and need.
I blogged it before and I am doing that again today in memoriam. This is what i wrote:
Last year, today at 1 am, I but also the platform lost a friend, a great steemian, a husband, a father, a grand-dad, a proud American, a proud Veteran and MY FRIEND. He was a warrior, an exceptional human, mister positive and great STEEM curator. Sunday morning Engagement Leaugue participant. Yes that is why I am also on that list every sunday, and he was so proud when I came in on the first place and top of the leaderboard, well that was because of all the tips and tricks he gave me. We talked and a whole lot about other stuff we had an opinion on. You loved that I joined forces with @xcountytravelers and @thekittygirl to start the Steemterminal, our welcoming terminal and you had a #payitforward discord hart so understood the work it took behind the scenes and that some days your DM would be full of people asking help, or wanting to connect.
Although we were a thousands of miles apart, and in different timezones we talked every day. Had fun, ideas and talked steem. This was my last message to him in discord:
**
I knew the moment you were not there when you were supposed to be there, the end had come. The battle was tough and unfair. You stood ground, untill 1 o’clock. You left instructions to contact me, and I am forever gratefull for that.
So my 4 o’clocky today , I know it was a favorite of you, Is a tribute to you and a BIG thank you, for being the first one that really made my steemjourney a personal one.
I have so many more words but tears won’t alow it.
Have a safe journey untill we meet again,
Some sunny day ......
AND MAY THE SEEDS TURN INTO STONG PLANTS
Love B
**
What I didn’t know is that all the messages that I had in discord would be erased after a year. I had them there and sometimes go back to advice he gave. I came to find out that they are gone. Just last sunday. Just like the seeds in the dandelion picture I to inform the platform of his passing. Its did hurt a bit. But he is still in some discords as a member with the avatar of a wolf @CowPuncher#1941. I want to leave that for now. The chat maybe gone, I have them in my head, and the advice he gave is working, I am a dolphin just like he is. He still has his account. With reason. He made a steem will and he had made sure I would be informed about his passing by his son and family. I had to inform friends like @melinda010100, and the members of the PayItForward Discord, @viking-ventures, @darkhorse, @wesphilbin and a few others. Weird but nesseccary. Everybody that met him had to know why the contact stopped.
My blog to inform Steemit as requested:
https://steemit.com/steemit/@brittandjosie/we-lost-a-steemit-legend-today-and-i-lost-a-great-friend
The next day on the 18th a special thing happened. Y husbands handed me a letter from the mailbox. I received his last hand written letter to me, thanking me for something and that letter and the message inside is dear and I keep it with my blogstuff. I treasure this and it remembers me to be the “girl with the chain of ideas” as he used to call me. I even made it into an signature footer for a lot of blogs. And BBRAVE is also something i keep in mind when a downvoter is on my path. And I drunk a glas of Wolfhart rose.
To salute you.
That is all already one year ago. A lot has happened. Some expected, some foreseen, some things really thrown me of guard, but all countered with the strong values learned from the best.
Here is his steemit board badge and the sweet @arcange made his the first recipient for the FAREWELL STEEMITBOARD BADGE , and eventhough that might be all changed with the coming of the new Bee Hive, steem is where most of us started. And where roots lay that are worth remembering and memories to be treasured. Also the veterans online honoured you.
His account is still there and he even is a Hivian now!
His legacy is there and the family will pick up blogging or curating when they are ready with the promise from @melinda010100 and myself to help with whatever help and advice they need, and I executed your wishes. I wrote it in a blog:
https://steemit.com/life/@brittandjosie/in-memoriam
Quote : It’s been a month, since your son contacted me and told me you passed away. It was a strike of lightning that hit that day. I did what you asked me to do and I wrote that letter to Mrs. Wolfe. I will send it when the time is there. I documented the blogs, thoughtful messages and the sweet comments. I hope they brought peace just like you asked.
You are forever remembered as @wolfhart here in the hart of Steemit and on the blockchain, and as MY friend.
To you, R. we are here for you and I always keep my promise......
That was also the message I send to his son Rob, and Rob took up discord and steemit and wrote the message to the friends and followers of his dad,
Quote : Every burden we bear presents a challenge to conquer, a light to be found. In my life I had laid my burdens on strong shoulders with the knowledge they would be conquered. Those shoulders were not my own, but my fathers. The light shown me, came through him. Two days ago, I was presented with a burden to bear, a challenge to conquer. My father passed away. I could not lay my burden upon his shoulders. I could not seek his light, or so I thought. Today I feel as though my burden is again lifted to his shoulders, his light shines once more. His Steem community, this community, has shown me his light through the amazing words and works presented from all of you. Dad was a positive man. He was a proud man. As I look upon these post I feel proud of him. Yet, if he were here standing next to me, he would simply say, “Do better than me.”
You have all helped a grieving family. You - who are hundreds or thousands of miles away have helped a grieving family deal with a devastating loss. Your impact is immeasurable.
I hope to get to know you all, and I will do my best to continue on in my father’s footsteps.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you all.
Rob
Why this blog, and why honour the dead?
Well I like the fact that all has started here on the blockchain and all will be here forever on the blockchain. This is a way to not forget. To honour and respect.
Today I want to end with a poem,
By anonymous me :
Where to did you go ?
It has happened, unexpectedly and yet so expectedly.
You were dear to me then and now
You are now elsewhere
to whom should I turn in my grief ? The living?
What do they know - dead? Everyone has been confronted with dead. Dead, silent in their thousand languages where is the living and the light
Its a curtain to connect. Leaving behind your hart in hurt.
Death and grief they both prefer to be buried, in our minds , far away while life, others live on.
But is life liveable without?
Without that certain someone, that loved one, online or in realtime
Can life be without death? Yes, Please?
Can it be opened without closing, can it be walked without ending. A life with the curtains to the stage open.
Open forever.
Forever to all of us....
You may think you should say something
you may think you should cheer me up
you may want to make me smile and enjoy today again
you may think you should comfort and advise me.
But I am asking is this:
will you listen to my story again and again to feel what I feel and what I think. or just read my mindset in a blog
You just have to be quiet, and read with me.
Just give me time. Time to find the words.
Words that are the same as last year but now with a tear less.
You don't even have to understand my sorrow but, if you can, just accept it as my hurt, I know my hurt is not your hurt , just how that hurt feels to me.
Being there listening will make my day different, more do-able
These times when i remember the days that were, make sad, but the real life heals me aswell.
Can life be without death? Please?
Preferably my loveliness deaths, this is not like I would like life to be,
But thats just me
The girl with a chain of ideas....
And a hart full of love.
If you made it up to here, this is also the blogging life as i know it. I am a daily blogger and this was important to me.
Hug your loved ones today, its important. Life can be over in a wink!
I miss him and have wanted so badly to share some of the ups and downs of opening my store with him. We had many conversations about the day I'd open the store and he pushed me to challenge myself and step outside my comfort zone. Truly someone that helped influence me in a positive way.
He did the same for me, and i am where i am because of his lessons and advice.
And he inspired me and my work for the terminal
Have great day,
And talk soon
Britt
The messages are not gone. I will DM you with instructions to get them back again. This post was such a sweet tribute... 💖
Thank you, i promised i would if the family didnt started on steem / hive yet,
And i tried to retrieve the dm convo's and did not succeed yet
Geez, has it been a year already? I really miss him, he was one of those I looked up to when I got here. He never showed any fear of anything, he was just taking things head on.
I know you two were extremely close, and he is still present in our hearts...
I hope Rob picks that account up and starts using it, it would be good for him and for his Dad and Mom.
Beautiful tribute @brittandjosie!!!
Miss you and love you Brother!
Yes already a year, after that sad message of his passing. We had a special thing indeed, and for a social media virgin at the time a very weird thing to experience that friendships online exist. Now a year later we have that friendship and you two are so alike. And I learned to document my special messages. So Rita is in a safe place.
Thans for the lovely commen t and being a friend
Can life be without death? Yes, Please? @brittandjosie, fue dulcemente triste leer este post, de un "hola y adiós" a un amigo que ha sido inolvidable para tí. Hay partidas, despedidas, muertes que golpean tan fuertemente nuestro corazón y en el tiempo que pasa no es posible (aunque mucha gente dice lo contrario) encontrar la conformidad o la aceptación de la pérdida. Fue dulcemente triste leer tus palabras, porque aun no cumple un año de fallecido mi esposo @orlandeto y es todo tan triste...Pero tu escrito más que una queja se vuelve un recordar y agradecer las cosas buenas del amigo perdido...y creo que esa es una buena forma de lidiar con el dolor, de manejar el dolor, de tratar con el dolor. Fuerte abrazo desde Venezuela, quizá con distancia geográfica pero con la cercanía de compartir el dolor de una pérdidaCan life be without death? Yes, Please? Thanks for sharing
Hi @sayury Condolences for the loss of your beloved husband. I know what it feels like to lose a loved one. It's the same as a dear, close friend who distance seemed like a room away in another part of the house. Sometimes putting pen to paper helps you memorialize the pain of loss. To see your words on paper how you felt, reacted to the news bring a sort of closure to it. You have something concrete to see, to bring it out of you. I know for a fact it does help.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. Nice to meet you. Stay safe, and take care. Have a great rest of your week.
Pésame por la pérdida de su amado esposo. Sé lo que se siente al perder a un ser querido. Es lo mismo que un amigo cercano y querido que la distancia parecía una habitación en otra parte de la casa. A veces poner el bolígrafo en el papel te ayuda a recordar el dolor de la pérdida. Ver en el papel cómo se sintió, reaccionar a la noticia, le da una especie de cierre. Tienes algo concreto que ver, para sacarlo de ti. Sé de hecho que ayuda.
Gracias por compartir tus pensamientos sobre esto. Encantado de conocerte. Mantente a salvo y cuídate. Que tengas un buen descanso de tu semana.
Traducción realizada con la versión gratuita del traductor www.DeepL.com/Translator
If only we could turn back time
Well, that was a 3 tissue read. Already a year, but the connection and memories seem like they happened just yesterday. Thanks for this, dear Britt. 🤗😘
They did, i miss the conversations but he is still somewhere i know that and like to think that he is, and that he likes what we are doing here.
I am positive that you are right. ❤️
@wolfhart is still in my heart after one long year. When migrating SteemitBoard to HiveBuzz, I asked our graphic designer to redo the dedicated badge we made for him.
You can check his board here
Thanks for reminding us, @brittandjosie.
RIP @wolfhart.
I love it and i printed it out and its in the letter to the family. Thanks for being a awsome head hivebuzzer
And a friend too 😉
@arcange Very nice badge. The wolf outline in white contrasts with the blue background. What an honor. I didn't know him, but from reading the posts and comments, it was well deserved.
Thank you @justclickindiva
Has it been a year already, damn :(
I didn't as my ears were not burning - I'll assume good things were being said :)
Very nice of you to do a tribute post Britt.
Yep he was your fan , and a numbers man. Those days we had the other giant on number 1 each week. And i dont want him to be forgotten and i hope his son will come to blog here.
Well thanks again for paying tribute, and I hope his son gives Hive a go too.
!ENGAGE 15
ENGAGEtokens.It was a very sad day, indeed... He also did a great job with @pifc... and sadly, the community started to lose a lot of members after he was gone.
We humans are so damn flimsy... aren't we?
Well yes, i have to admitt i am there less and less, non offence to you and Viking. Maybe all will be better when darkhorse comes back
Time does indeed fly...
I too remember him dear friend... the talk of how close we were (It wasn't until he was gone, that I realized he was hinting at perhaps meeting up) a State away, but no matter. He lives on in our heart, and memories.
Blessings to you, and as always, his family. A light gone too soon... forever with us...
Wes
Yes if we could have only had a meeting in your country that would have been awsome. He is indeed in our harts and that on itself is very special
Thanks for the sweet words
It was a pleasure to read his comments on my Steemit page and to chat with him on Discord. He is missed for sure!
Yes he is and time goes by to fast
I'm sorry for your loss
Thanks sometimes you meet special people online and they stay in your hart forever
Of course, online or offline, those people are around us :)
I think so to, its a bad thought if they would be really gone
Hi @brittandjosie. Yes, life can be over in a flash. And you never know when. The only day you are guaranteed is today. Your tribute to your friend is touching. True online friendships can and do exist for those who know what a true friendship is. It's just like loving a loved family member. Just like purchasing a greeting card for someone, your words memorialized on paper helps you in your grief.
Be grateful you got to spend that time with him. Your friendship probably helped him through many days.
Thanks for sharing your tribute to him.
He was great, and he pushed me to challenge myself and step outside my comfort zone doing my blogs and my fouroclocky. Truly someone that helped influence me in a positive way. And i treasure his friendship an the fact that his son is reconsidering his steem/hive carreer. And i most certainly help.
I am grateful I got to spend that time with him. And indeed the friendship probably helped him through many days just as it did me.
Thanks for stopping by,
Britt
I remember him. Did not realize he passed. Very sad but such a lovely tribute @brittandjosie. Thanks for sharing
He was my mentor, a vet and true American friend he is terribly missed
My condolences, this is a very beautiful tribute and a beautiful poem.
I am sure he should be proud of you, of all that you have accomplished and in turn to help us. He watches over you and watches over you all.
Big hugs
I hope he sees all
I do he was my mentor here
I am sure he see, you can be proud of yourself to maintain his memory through your blog.