Wednesday, July 21, 2010

today he flew

When I get home form work in the morning, one of the blogs I check out before all others is An Explorers View of Life. Barry has been an inspirational writer and never more than the past months as he chronicled his days living with cancer. Last February, dozens hundreds of his blogfriends from around the world joined in a ceremonial bell ringing to celebrate with him the end of his chemo treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. Since then, when I pass by my Swiss cow bell that hangs in the hall, I glance at it more frequently and I think of Barry, and the many other people I have known who have endured cancer.

Barry left us yesterday after several weeks in hospital. He wrote a final post, just days ago, where he says that "today I flew". It sounded ominous, yet hopeful that he really would "tell us more next week". I am sure he has found a new audience to tell his story. He had so many stories and it was a joy to have him share them with us.

We will miss you, Barry Fraser.

17 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry to hear of your friend's passing. I'll ring a bell today.

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  2. Beautifully said. I also appreciated Linda's sentiments, which remind me that he moves on, though he is not with us any more.

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  3. Very poignant post but such a lovely image. Brave man!

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  4. Wow, what a great last post. I'm sorry you lost such a good virtual friend.

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  5. Thank you for this tribute and bringing to our attention the passing of this remarkable and beloved Barry Fraser. May he be at peace and flying high.

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  6. I too am sorry for his passing. I am sure he is sharing his stories right now!!!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  7. Love does negate time and distance.


    Please have a good Thursday.
    daily athens

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  8. Remembering him and his positive spirit in prayer.

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  9. Barry was a great fellow, and he travelled his last journey with such grace and humor. I think he taught us all a lesson in how to live every moment. He will be missed.

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  10. Need to get back in touch with this blog...

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  11. My condolences to you and all his friends and family.

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  12. Heart breaking. I'll say a prayer for your friend.

    jj

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  13. Sorry to hear about Barry. I hope he's in a nice place.

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  14. I suspect, the older we get, the more we miss our friends.
    A nice post.

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  15. So sad to read. However, how nice to have closure. One blog I read, one blogger I got close to, just stopped! How wonderful that you had the opportunity to connect on such a profound level Barry. My thoughts are with you!

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