A Friend Lost But Never To Be Forgotten

The catch up posts are irrelevant for now. They can come later.

This morning I got up late, as I was pouring my juice I realised I had a text message on my phone. Read it, and was instantly sent into shock, and disbelief.

A man I met onece upon a time in a Pal Talk chatroom, a man who along with others, took me under his wing, taught me how to win in the music quizzes, gave me the confidence to host a quiz myself. A man who I would chat to for hours on end on MSN. A selfless man, who although he himself suffered from a disease, always put me in the foreground. He asked me every detail of my illness and said how brave I was. When he eventually opened up and told me about his struggles.....I too told him he was brave. Braver than I ever knew.

His illness, rarer than mine....and much more severe, he fought bravely. He knew he was ill, but he never let it get him down. He always made me smil, made me laugh, and made me love him as a very very dear friend.

I know that everyone who knew him loved him. He had the special way about him, that very few people have, of making you the important one in a conversation.

Once, he hadn't seen me online for a while, knew I had been in the hospital, and rang me out of the blue to check I was ok. I regret now that I never asked him for his phone number. He mentioned that he too had been in the hospital, but as always he was "fine", just worried about me. Like I said, selfless.

Then we found a "new toy" on the internet. Skype, where you can call people, and use your headset and microphone to talk to each other as if you were phoning them. Whenever I logged on my phone would ring and it would be him.....we talked for hours.

If he caught me on MSN he would always politely ask if I could spare the time to talk to hom on Skype......I always had the time.....for him, like all of my friends, I have the time. I'm just thankful now that that time to me was important.

Over the last few months we've drifted apart. The group of us that used to live on Pal Talk have all gone our separate ways. A lot of us are still on touch via MSN, or phone calls, I still wish I had his number. I would have called him.

Whenever he saw me appear on MSN, if he was there, he would message me and say hello....always more recently, short conversations.....each of us checking we were ok. He would talk about his family, his wife, his children and how he adored his dog. Then as quickly as he came on, he would have to go. Brief.....but heartfelt.

He mentioned to me once that he always read my blog to see how I was getting on. He was in my garden of friends as simply "A". Even in a post from a few days ago, regarding the little rhyme I wrote.

Just a little note to say,
That I miss you more each day,
And when it comes that Saturday
I'll hold you in my arms and say......

Our friendship grows stronger every day.

Mushy Whisky or what!!

But that poem isn't just for C. It's for ALL of my friends. CCF, Navie Wifey, College Buddy, V, Chinese Buddy, and I know she'll hate this, but SIL to me you are a friend not just a relative (sticks tongue out). And of course my online friends. Holli, Aly, Moggie, Pickle, Ladyhawk, Divemuster, J in Scotland, Madwag, Sandra, and Tanya...P and C, Pingu, and A......and anyone I may have omitted, not on purpose.

Here's another poem written in 2005.


True Friends

True friends are hard to come by
Some come, some soon go
But the ones that remain here
They are true, and you know
If ever you need them
They'll be at your side
In a "chat" way to hold you
To comfort, to guide

Like Flower Girl, Dr Pepper and little Pingu
They are my friends, my comfort
The ones who will willingly do
anything to cheer me, to bring me a smile
and how do I know this?
Cos they've been there for a while

Like Adam and ArchieAll are honest and kind
But deep down inside me
I know I'll get by
Cos my friends mean the world to me
You guys know it's true
I would be nothing
without my friends.....YOU!!


It's hard to realise that he was in my thoughts maybe when he needed his friends the most. My one regret.......I never got his phone number.

His illness defeated him. I don't know any details. But I do know he lived not far from me.....and if I can, if it's not too late, I will try to be there when he is sent away with prayers.

I'll leave you with a picture of a friend I'll always love.
He's now with the angels being comforted up above.
Next time you look into the sky...look for a cloud and see,
It may be him, his face his smile my dearest friend Archie.