Weisbuch Receives First Katy Award

Peace, Katymine, and thank you for all you have given to this site and this community.

Our beloved Katymine. Too soon.

RIP Katymine. We’ll keep up the fight for you.

Peace, Katymine. Thank you for all you’ve done. There will be forever an empty spot in our hearts.

(((Elmore)))

She was always so warm and welcoming to newcomers to the Lake, and just a lot of fun. I’ll miss her.

She was one of those delightfully welcoming voices in many a Late Night thread.

Rest eternal, grant her, O Lord . . .

Peace to you too, Elmore, and Suzanne, and everyone else to whom this post brings tears.

Farewell. ((((Katymine’s family and friends))))

Goodnight, Katymine. We agreed last year to celebrate our birthdays together online today, and I’m sticking with my end of the bargain. Just because the nature of your connection has changed doesn’t let you off, either. Happy Birthday, Katymine. I am so happy to learn that your good deeds will carry on in the Katy Award. My contribution to the Grayson moneybomb today was made with you in mind.

Had the pleasure of meeting her at kos 2 – greatly enjoyed her travel tales from Greece and her gentle spirit. Wishing peace and comfort for Elmore and her family.

Oh, no.

She is in a place more beautiful than Greece.

Thank you Suzanne for posting this. I always enjoyed katymine’s comments and her great sense of kindness. As a fellow Arizonan I am doubly sad that an intelligent and thoughtful voice from this state will no longer be here. She made me feel that I was not the only progressive in a state not exactly know for being liberal. Damn, I will greatly miss her.

Peace be with you on your new journey, Katymine.

Peace

(((katymine)))

Peace to her family.

been dreading this news, yet here it is – so gently presented by Suz.

my sincere condolences.

Bye Katymine you helped make the Lake what it is, thanks Suz for posting this. (((Elmore))) I hope you are Ok.

We were fortunate to have Katherine with us for a time. Tough, smart, funny, and one nice lady. To meet her was to like her instantly.

My thoughts and best wishes to her family, and to her Elmore, who she adored.

Thank you, Suzanne.

Deepest condolences. It was a joy when she joined us on Late Night and pleasure to get to know her there. Toughts, prayers and blessings to her loved ones…and I know there are many who loved her and whom she she loved.

I am so sad, but at last she is free of the pain and suffering. (((Elmore)))
I first “met” Katymine several years ago when she was reporting back from Greece on how hot it was on the islands that year. I joked about them mistakenly leaving Phoenix in search of someplace cooler.

If ever there was a weakness in the Internet, it is this: That we can build a community of people who cannot touch one another, don’t speak directly to one another, and cannot be physically with one another for the deepest moments of our lives. And yet, one of the strengths is that Katy’s electrons live on. Her Toll-free numbers will live on to spur us all. Her kindness and decency and just plain politeness will live on in her comments which frankly will continue to reside on some server, some place. When I read about her ‘lifting off’, all I could think of was The Ballad of Joe Hill and a specific verse that I feel, with a little bit of change, should be a remembrance:

And standing there as big as life
A-smiling with her eyes.
Said Kate, what cancer never killed
Went on to organize,
Went on to organize!

I do feel Katymine would want her legacy to us to be that – never give up, never give in, keep giving them hell, never give them a moment’s peace, until they do the right thing.
TO THE PHONES!!

She fought the good fight and it was my utmost pleasure to sit next to her when we met at a meet up in Portland a few years back.
Yes, instantly likeable and smart as a whip.

Kinda hard to type , I have something in my eyes.

My condolences to Elmore and her family.

We lost a good one yesterday and she will be sorely missed.

Trip the light fantastic my dear lady.

Busted

I remember that day fondly.

I miss her dearly.

You, on the other hand…the verdicts still out.

and I know there are many who loved her and whom she she loved.

I don’t post much, but I feel connected to everyone here. I may have exchanged words with katymine once or twice, but I’ve read many of her posts. What I know for certain is that she inspired love. I will miss her.

Freed at last, our Katymine. I so much regret not hooking up with her when she came to Alaska in 2006. What a great tribute the Katy Award is.

Thanks for this thoughtful remembrance, Suzanne.

Peace to Katymine. We met at the first YearlyKos in Los Vegas, and then Patrick & I hung out with her in Chicago the following year. When we first met, I could not imagine that this powerful activist had not yet turned Arizona blue. She spent hours with me, detailing the fraud that was John McCain, who had deceived Americans for so long.

Katy brought wonderful tales of her Greece trip with Elmore to our next get-together in Chicago. She lectured me for wanting to see her governor, Janet Napolitano, go to Washington to serve with Barack Obama. She explained how shallow the Democratic bench was in Arizona, and how badly things would go for her state should the wingnut succeed Janet. Seeing that the state has put its Capitol building up for sale, I have to say she was spot-on about that.

More than her passioned arguments and advocacy, though, Katy brought a warm embracing spirit to our friendship. When you’re in a same-sex relationship, you never know what kind of bump in the road you might experience when a friend meets your partner. Katy embraced Patrick and loved to laugh with him in Chicago about our crazy activism — she really understood what it meant to have a partner who was not so engaged in our partisan politics, and how silly some of our debates looked to those closest to us. While she shared our passion, she could also turn to someone like Patrick, who was wondering how we could care so much, and dig an elbow or roll her eyes. It meant a lot.

Finally, though, she was a tremendous fan of what we do here at FireDogLake everyday. I hope we will always post “Katymine’s Toll-Free Numbers” when we need to storm our representatives’ offices. Her activism, her passion, her commitment to seeing the American Dream shared widely among all — these drove her to go the extra mile every time.

It was an honor to be in her company on these threads. I shall miss her terribly, but I will honor her advocacy by re-doubling my own. What a wonderful, wonderful woman.

How can you miss me if I won’t go away kinda thing, huh?

Good to see you my friend.

And thank you, Suzanne, for what must have been a very difficult task well-executed.

The Guesthouse

This being human is a guesthouse.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight . . .

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

– Rumi

=======

Thank you, katymine, for sharing this guesthouse, and for being a guide to us all on how to be a gentle companion on this road, how to live like it matters, and how to travel the road home.

Thank you to your friends and loved ones for sharing with us as well. Be good to each other.

I also find this news quite heartbreaking. Although we live in the same general area, I never met Katy personally, but you could feel her warmth emanating right thru the tubes. Goodnight, Katy. You will be greatly missed.

Good night, Katy.

Hugs to all who love her.

Oh, no; so hard to believe we won’t hear her special voice again. It wasn’t so long ago she would pop up on Late Nite, saying she was ravenous, and was eating everything in sight.

Though I only “met” her here online, I’ve thought about her every day since learning she had gone into hospice. Thank you, Suzanne, for so gently delivering the news we’ve all dreaded. And, one last time, wherever you are, ((((katymine)))).

Rest In Peace, beloved Katymine.

{{{{{Elmore}}}}

Thank you Suzanne, just, thank you.

Rest easy, Katherine. Condolences to her friends and family.

goodnight sweet katymine.

Peace to Katymine and all who knew and loved her – she was such a warm and valued voice in our community.

Left me manners in the other room. Thank you, Suzanne.

Such a sweet, sweet soul — and a giving one.

I am forever using the Greek cookbook she brought to me at YKos after her trip there, with a note that told me to make the veggie laden ones often for the extra antioxidants.

Rest well and peacefully, Angel. For you were one. And are one still.

I don’t know what to say.. just sad and yet relieved her suffering is over.

Good night sweet katymine.

tears stinging eyes .. i got nothin, just what everybody said

thank you Suzanne

Amen.
I loved hearing about her travels to Greece.
Goodnight Katymine.

Thank you, dear Katy, for your kind, illuminating posts! especially the late night ones!
Made the world a better place for us. We will miss you!

Fly Angel ! thanks so much for all you unselfishly gave us

prayers for comfort and grace to all who loved her

It’s a sad, sad day, repose en paix, katymine.

Thanks Suz.

(((Katymine and Elmore)))

Katymine, thank you for bring us your warmth spirit and keen eye – and your amazing energy.

I’m glad you’re free of suffering, but sorry for Elmore and your family’s loss….and for ours.

Goodnight, Katymine.

(Suz, thank you for remembering her so well on this sad day.)

Katymine, rest in peace and in joy. Thanks for sharing your life with us and for teaching us to be more active citizens. Oh, and thanks for your sense of humor and well-earned outrage at those who so richly deserve it.

Thanks for being all that you are and for ever will be.
((((Katymine))))

Katymine, a memory now, but one I will keep as one of my treasures the rest of my life.

And a mighty fine piece Suzanne!

Thank you both!

Dear Katy,
will miss you on all the work road trips! But i will never forget the eggs, or the great Nick’s Greek restaurant in NYC. thanks for the mentoring and the laughs kiddo!–JB

Suz- thanks for posting this albeit very sad news. Tears.

Katymine, thanks for your inspiration and your wonderful spirit. You were an incomparable voice of courage and wisdom at FDL.

Elmore and Katy’s family- hard to know what to say might that ease the grief, but thank you for being part of her life. My utmost condolences.

The tears are running down my scaly green face and Ned the Fighting Koi is crying in his bowl. We’ll miss you Katymine. You were too good for this heartache of a world.

A life fully lived is what Katy had and we are all better for it. I had hoped that she would get one more trip to Greece. My thoughts are with Elmore and her family. We will miss her and think of her often.

Ooowwwww [[[[Katymine]]] !!!!
Dear Woman, dear Katymine, you left your mark and your mark runs deep. Thank you.
My heart goes out to her family for their loss. She was a very special person.
Peace

Thank you, Suzanne.

I forgot to say thank you, Suzanne. It was a lovely, thoughtful piece and I know it hurt to write it. Peace.

Damn. She will be missed. Peace be with you.

I am so sorry to hear this news. Katymine was a wonderful presence on FDL. I wish I had been able to meet her in person.

I so well remember Katy talking about her chats with folks in Europe about our health care system, how people there were just amazed at the convolutions Americans went through to access a basic human right. Her eyes were opened through her travels, and informed her activism. The inaugural Katy awardee is a very fitting choice, someone who has worked for single payer so hard.

Also, she was gobsmacked by the colors in Greece.

Nice work for a hard job, Suz. You done good.

Bye katymine. Rest well.

I am so sorry to hear this news. Her humor, courage, and good thoughts will be missed.

Thanks, Suz. Peace to Katymine and family.

Oh katymine,

Such a fighter! Such a lover of life. We will miss your great attitude of all things, especially your love for Elmore.

Suzanne, thank you — this must have been so difficult to write.

Good night Katymine. You did good.

this post — telling everyone that our katy has moved on — was one of the hardest things i’ve had to do. we were not related but when i met her, i felt like i had known her all my life. she was my sister from a different mother.

katy was the very first person i met when i moved to oregon. as i drove up 101, knowing that i was going to meet her for lunch in florence helped ease my jitters about the great unknown that was oregon. she always had tips to share that made my life here easier.

i am a better person for having known katy.

Sweet katymine. Sleep well. You have been an overachiever for good. Love you and respect you so much!

Rest in Peace Katy. Peace and condolences to Elmore and family.

Happy birthday, Jim. What a day.

I was in the kitchen last night and I looked at Lucy (Kobe’s daughter) and I just burst out crying. She looked up at me and said “he’s here mom, you just can’t see him.”

So if you’re here, Katymine (and I know you are), we miss you a lot but it’s only because of our own limitations. So please jiggle a lamp or tweak Suzanne’s nose or pull Dakine’s ear every now and again, and remind us that your spirit is so baked into to the concrete around here that we’re never without you.

Thank you, sweet Suz.

Peace, Katy.

This must’ve been so difficult, Suzanne. Thank you for doing it with such grace for Katy.

I’m smiling as I remember her “Greece” posts. The anticipation, the going, the coming home & sharing it all with us. She was so generous with her joys and her heart. I shall miss her voice here, but I’ll never forget her.

My deepest condolences to Elmore, her friends and family.

And you are too, Christy. It’s so sad to have to grow up and grow apart. There will always be a special connection, I hope.

Being together through the worst of American history…only knowing that there were like souls keeping us sane.

Thanks katymine, but everyone else too.

“We thought you would not die–we were sure you would not go
And leave us in our utmost need to Cromwell’s cruel blow
Sheep without a shepherd when the snow shuts out the sky–
Oh! Why did you leave us Eoghan? Why did you die?”

Excerpt from “The Death of Eoghan Ruadh O’Neill”
Thomas Davis

Well Done, Suz!

This one is for you Katy -

Thank You – Led Zeppelin

Good bye Katymine I will miss you, but then again I have you in my heart and will never forget you.
Suz thanks for writing this, I know it was hard.
(((Elmore & Katymine)))

A few weeks after my Mr. Sunshine’s passing last summer, the ICU team at Mayo sent me a card with a poem with a concluding bridge that adapts now for katymine… as we raise our voices in a chorus of farewells, voices are already welcoming you in your new realm.

No rest in peace from me, but rather a wish that you realize in your new realm even more of the passion and zest that radiated from your every word.

And heartfelt condolences to Elmore and katymine’s family of friends, all of us, enriched for too short a time by her presence among us.

I never posted here yet, but been tagging along. So yah, dayamitalltohell. Blessed be.

Sorry to hear the sad news. RIP Katymine. Condolences to all who loved and cared for her.

On this somber occasion…
Welcome to the Lake.

welcome albeit on such a sad occasion. looking forward to hearing your voice now that you have de-lurked. if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

As a very newcomer I have learned much of this community tonight.

I believe there is a full measure of your beloved Katymine that endures here..

Blessings to you all..

(((((katymine))) (((elmore)))

(((mr. sunshine))) (((prairie)))

So many tears. So many . . . .

Katy was a woman who knew her own heart and her own intention. We will continue to love her, know her and need her. She is folded into all of us. She is gone. She is here.

Tears, thoughts, prayers for (((( katymine )))) and her loved ones. I could tell just by her conversation here at FDL that she was one hell of a cool lady.

I am weeping. But our Katymine is at peace now. We will always remember her with love.

Oh, wow. Today’s my birthday, too. Love and loss. Ouch.

hippo birdies two ewes
hippo birdies two ewes
hippo birdies deer katymine, jim white, and barbara
hippo birdies twoo ewes
… and mini s’mores

Katy would say “Happy Birthday!”

Welcome TalkingStick, I hope you will share more about your views in future posts.

Migo, we are glad to have you with us. Welcome.

Sweet!! You know what? I am really honored to share this day with jim white and katymine. I wish I’d known . . . . . . . . . .

and marymccurnin, I know she would. Dammitalltohell. And many more!

I am so grateful I was here to witness and be touched by katymine’s strong spirit. whenever I use those toll free numbers, and I do, I will say a prayer for her.

thank you for this thread, suzanne.

Ah, geez.
I will always remember Katy as the girl who sat in her backyard, on a Saturday Pullupachair morning, in her backyard with Miss Dog. And, the facebook photo with the wonderful mountains in the background. And, how I first told her years ago that my daughter is Katie.
I will always remember how I sent her and Elmore a youtube of My Father Always Promised Me We Would Live In France and how she told me it made Elmore cry.
I will always remember Katy.
(thanks to you, Suz. Hard, huh?)

Thanks so much Egregious.

I hope you will share more about your views in future posts.

I will, maybe do a diary. A lot of frustration and anger due to the health care legislation debacle set me looking for some conversation with a more positive perspective. I do believe regardless of the law that evolves we must nourish our positive liberal values and let the anger go. So many of you all seem to succeed at that well.

More in a more appropriate thread or diary.

For Katymine and Elmore

http://www.sacredsites.com/europe/greece/images/parthenon-500.jpg

everytime i call congress i will be thinking of katymine — thank you libbyliberal

Rest now, thy work is done, and others wait to take it up with their own hands.

Let’s win this battle for katymine!

hard it was demi but the love shared here on this thread eases my pain. i hope it does so for all.

i look forward to reading it talkingstick.

very beautifully done, suzanne. hugs to you and all firepups here.

Peace to katymine, a very special firepup. I’ll miss her.

The world’s a poorer place tonight. As Mary Harris Jones said, “I’m no humanitarian, I’m a hell-raiser.”

I’ll be raising some hell tomorrow and remembering Katy.

What impostor through yonder window breaks?

Yes, dearheart. Yes.

*laughing* katy would be pulling up her lawn chair and passing the popcorn at the thought of dueling lurking mods.

Imposter!

Tonight, of all nights, there must be some light, somewhere, that needs adjusting.

It is the east, and Katymine is the sun.

Listen with me if you like. King Singers “You Are the New Day.”

Oh how I have dreaded this news. Katy, you fought so hard. Peace to you, to Elmore, and to all who loved you and congratulations on a life well lived.

well thank you all for the welcome. You are the warmest and caring group. I didn’t want to intrude, but somehow I feel a part of. Time to share that. Let you know that your Katy, and all touch lives, profoundly. Peace.

Godspeed, Katy. It was an honor to meet you, and wonderful to know you. I’ll miss you.

katey moves through, rest easy, rest well

Just looking in before turning the lights out to find out that such a bright light has gone out for good. So so sad.

I remember tossing a few at the bar in Chicago at YKos2 and having a spirited conversation about AZ. Katymine was so active and well connected. The good guys were in awe of her voice, the bad guys dreaded hearing from her. She taught us all a lot. She sure knew how to organize!

Wherever she’s at now, she’s making sure that the values we hold up at this place are being attended to.

Blessings to Elmore and the friends and family of a great lady. She will be missed by us all.

{{{{{{{{{{{ Katymine }}}}}}}}}}

May choirs of angels sing you on your way. Peace.

thanks, suzanne, I will think of her … and I will also think now of you doing the same with your calls … and look at this … katymine continues even now to create and inspire important and continuing ripples for freedom and strength and brother- and sisterhood of spirit! :)

She fought the good fight. Her voice will be missed.

Good night Katymine. Your thoughts and presence here will be missed.

-G

Hugs to you Suz for finding the courage to write your farewell to Katy. She welcomed you to your new life and now you have sent her off to her’s. I’m sure Miss Dog was there to greet her. Heaven without the spirits of our beloved pets would not be the spiritual world of perfection that I believe we all came here from. In honor of Katy who had to battle cancer and insurance companies at the same time, fight on everyone to put an end to this travesty.

in honor of katy indeed bbfly – thanks.

Yesterday all Saints’ Day, today, All Souls. Probably the best of the xtian calendar, IMO.

Katymine, you picked a great time to travel, lots of company. We miss you here, but your work on the new path will be amazing.

Take care, send us some good energy from where you are. We need it. We send love to you there. Still, we are sad, we can’t help ourselves.

Love and Sweet Music to Elmore, Katymine and all their loved ones.

indeed. kitchens everywhere are observing a minute of dimmed fluorescence.

I am triply blessed (or would it be quadruply?)to have had a birthday today. Sharing this post has meant so much more than just making notches on my Medicare card.

hippo birdies skeptic. november 2nd sure produced some wonderful people.

Just now finding out.

A sad, sad loss for her Elmore, family, and all her friends near and far.

But a better peace for her, and an end to her pain.

Suz, spectacular homage, one of the finest I’ve ever read.

Ya did good, gal. Captured her essence, all of it.

We grieve, but we remember. Always.

She was special.

Goodnight Katymine.

I am sorry to hear this. I think of her as intelligent, kind, and brave. I know and miss many other such spirits who are no longer here. They must be gathering somewhere.

I’m mainly a lurker here, but I was so sad to see the title of this post come up on the main page. katymine’s very name made me feel I should sing a song to her, and she was just like that in her comments. Beautiful tribute, Suzanne.

Oh Katymine, we are better for knowing you and sad for your departure….

Suzanne, Thank you for your gentle words…I knew we had not heard anything very recently. My thoughts with Elmore who certainly stood by. May the spirits of love and peace surround the family.

A weakness in some dimensions perhaps, per TobyWollin, but also a wonder, that the internet can create —a shared image of a community in our hearts and minds.

Rest in peace, katymine.
Condolences to her nearest and dearest.

(((Katymine)))

For your: courage,”to the phones”,sharing your story,active voice and constant encouraging words when we had never met face-to-face, I am thankful to have had my life enriched by you Katymine.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Katy’s family and close friends.

Such a sad loss. Her sheer goodness just flowed through these tubes.

Thanks to Suzanne for shouldering the task of writing the news we have dreaded. Also, to all who have shared their memories of her, thanks and how lucky were we all to have known this fine woman?

To her dearest Elmore and other loved ones, condolences and will be thinking of you. Katymine will be remembered and profoundly missed by so many.

The past few months were difficult, because I could feel the pain that wracked Katherine’s being. And yet, she continued to live her passions … for her dreams, for food, for Crete and for her beloved Elmore.

While facing death, Katherine taught us how to live … with great music, food, passion and love.

Even the best Teacher must leave us some day but your lessons will remain with us, eternally.

{{{{{{{{{{ Katherine }}}}}}}}}} {{{{{{{{{{ Elmore }}}}}}}}}}

Suz, what a lovely job you did with this heartbreaking piece.

Katymine was sucha gentle soul and so empathetic. I am so sad, th eonly condolence being that her suffering is finally at an end

walk the The Elysian Fields, dearest with doggie

Goodnight sweet sweet princess. We miss you terribly and will for a long time to come.

Farewell katymine!

And condolences to her children, her parents and family, and to her adored (((Elmore))). May you find some comfort knowing how loved she was here at The Lake. I hope we gave her comfort through her sickness.

Suz, thank you for the beautiful post, it couldn’t have been easy for you to write through the tears.

Goodnight Katymine. You are a valiant spirit.

Alison Krauss and Yo You Ma – Slumber My Darling

My deepest condolences to Elmore

Dave in Okinawa

Oh no…

Sweetest of dreams to you, dear dear katymine. Like Suz always says: Pain free sleep…

You will always be here with us whenever we gather together. Always.

Thank you Suzanne for writing this post to tell all of us Firepups the sad sad news of Katymine’s passing. Rest in Peace Katymine. Condolences Elmore and Family.

RIP, Suzanne, from a (mostly) lurker in this neighborhood of FDL – and condolences to family and friends.

Here is something beautiful – even to this non-fan of opera – that TRex posted long ago in honor of the life and work of Steve Gilliard, and that also seems appropriate here – Renee Fleming sings “Song to the moon” from Dvorak’s Rusalka (7:41).

May you be at peace, Katymine, I will miss you.

Dear Elmore & family of Katherine, I write this on behalf of many here … all our love and support are with you and if there is anything we can do, please contact Suz or one of the mods.

I’m so sorry. Katymine had a shiny soul. I enjoyed coming across her online.

Bless (((Katymine)) and ((Elmore)). We loved her and she will be sadly missed.

My condolences to Elmore and Katy’s family… I’ve always enjoyed her visits here at the Lake… I’ll miss her cheerfulness and wit that she always brought…! She is missed…!

You will be missed, katymine, but I’m glad your suffering has ended. Peace to all who cared for you here.

((((Katymine))))