Good bye Michelle...

Sometimes on line friends can be closer friends then those that you know face to face. 

I have a few – can count them on one hand – online friends that I have never met but that I feel very very close to. I also have online friends that I enjoy as friends, and maybe we shall, in future, grow that close. Then I too have friends – very close friends that I met face-to-face and are also on line now. But here I am talking about those – that are close friends, yet we have never met.

One such friend I met through the Unitedcats (UC) page, and later we became Facebook friends as well. Her user name on UC was MichyD. Her real name was Michelle Dias.

She was always there. At first with advice on feline care for those that needed it – always compassionate but never hiding difficult truths. Then her humour came to the front, wicked, funny and yet never hurtful. Through her cat, Sophie, she showed her mastery of the writing art.  

She became the one that I looked forward to seeing on UC or FB. 

I was hoping to meet her on a trip to Canada, maybe next year. To change that online friendship to a face-to-face friendship. 

I know she touched so many many people and helped so many many feline friends.

Her last words personally to me, was to stay safe during the London riots. She was half a year younger than me. 

She has left this world, suddenly and quietly. Leaving a hole that will never be filled, because she was the only one that could fill it. 

One of her most recent contribution to a online UC story was a pirate song that Sophie in the guise of Sophomerta sang – here it is.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate cat am I.
I pillage your toy box, I rifle and loot.
Drink your cream, me 'earties, yo ho.
We savage your pillows and don't give a hoot.
Drink your cream me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate cat am I.
We extort all your prawns and we filch and we snack.
Drink your cream, me 'earties, yo ho.
Maraud your stuff while you’re watching and even highjack.
Drink your cream, me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate cat am I.
We steal all your bedding and even the bed.
Drink your cream, me 'earties, yo ho.
We snarl in your faces and fill you with dread,
Drink your cream, me 'earties, yo ho.

We're rascals and stray cats, we're fierce as a lion.
Drink your cream, me 'earties, yo ho.
With nine lives to live on, we've no fear of dyin'.
Drink your cream, me 'earties, yo ho.

We're demons and fighters and ne'er do-well beasts,
Drink your cream, me 'earties, yo ho.
Aye, and we steal all your kibble and your Fancy Feasts,
Drink your cream, me 'earties, yo ho.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate cat am I.

Michelle, you are so so missed by so so many people all over the world, your family, your many many friends and all those felines that you helped and all those that will never know you and lastly but not in the least, by Sophie. Love you my on-line friend.