” No matter what, nobody can take away the dances you’ve already had.”
~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Carol Hart loves my little Japanese maple. I posted it twice in November; first extolling its virtue of fall beauty and again with our first snow. Carol thought it was one of the most beautiful trees, or at least photographs of a tree, she’d ever seen. Her remarks about the outhouse and my work lifts my spirits. That’s Carol. She’s a spirit lifter. She’s funny as all get out, inquisitive, genuine, and blessed with one of the biggest hearts on this planet.
I’ve known Carol almost as long as I’ve known Angie Bliss Fanning, and that’s a long time, but we never had a chance to really meld until Facebook came along. As ridiculous as Facebook can be, it has the ability to draw folks together that would otherwise never have the chance. Like me and Carol; she was in Oklahoma, and I was in Kentucky. She loved the outdoors, the Illinois River, Lake Tenkiller, her friends, music, anything fun really, and she especially loved photography so, we always had a lot to talk about. We also loved a lot of the same people, like Lance Hughes and Angie Bliss Fanning who had the unfortunate task of telling me about her passing this morning. Five weeks ago Carol discovered her body riddled with cancer. Today, she joined Lance for a big welcome home party in the sky. Visit with your friends and family often. Tell them you love them even more than that. Open your heart to everyone because you never know where you’ll find a kindred spirit. In honor of Carol, here’s my little Japanese maple in springtime’s golden hour. As Angie said, “it’s somehow fitting that Carol died on Earth Day.” It’s all about the light.
Kiya Heartwood
So sorry for all of us KO!
Kopana
Indeed. On the other hand, think how fortunate we all were to have known her. I’m so thankful for that.