It has been six years and one month, since my sister Susan or Tigger 2 went to heaven.  Not a day doesn’t go by that I don’t long for a time to talk to her even though I know I can talk to her its not always the same when I cant see her with my eyes and hear her with my ears and feel her with my hands.

Who was Susan Richard? What was her life worth?  Who did she touch? Who did she love? Who did she care for? What things did she hope for? What things did she fear?

Susan Richard was a quiet person, she didn’t have a loud personality by any means, she was quiet but far from shy, she was very out going. She would go out of her way to help you if she could. Even though some would look at her and feel distain because of her outward appearances. But what little did they know the heart inside was a heart that could be hurt by such comments even if she didn’t show it. She felt it. But greater still was the fact that she had a big enough heart to have a kind word for you when she could see you needed it.

Of all the things I miss the most about my sister it is the being able to pick up the phone and call her used o call her about things I would see on TV, even while we were talking on ICQ or IRC we would also be talking on the phone.

We would a lot of times go get something to eat either to McDonalds or Taco bell or Subway, or Hardies, or Wendy’s. Sometimes we would get dinner and go down to the boat lunch park by the river and sit there in the car eating and talking.

Our talks would be about computers or our day or our friends. Or something about a book or web page. Many of the parts of the novel Susan was working on were formed and talked about during this time.

We talked about our other sister Shanta sometimes too. Boy was Susan and Shanta twins and still are to this day always will be.  I can remember talking about a story that they were working on for a Duran Magazines, The man with the Golden Hairdryer, James Bond Meets Simon Lebon? Laugh will ya??? The story was very good I must find a copy of it to put on to the web page

Oh and those trips to Pizza Hut with Robert oh those were fun, me and Robert could have Susan laughing and crying at the same time in under 2 minutes

What else did we talk about? Oh we talked about some of her different friends, Paula, Michael. Right now that is all that comes to mind I am sure others will come to mind once I think about it.

I can remember going out and talking about things that had happened on the news even if they were things that never even related to us. The shooting in Columbine, the bomb in Okalahoma City, When our friend Joanie was shot a few days afterward we drove up to her shop and looked at the signs and candles and flowers there. We talked about Princess Diana and what our feelings was on that. We talked about a lot of things that were global we talked about a lot of things that were personal we talked about a lot of things that were effecting who and what we were.

She was a deeply personal individual who was affected by events around her. There are her thoughts are posted on her pages as they affected her and what she felt and what she thought and how they caused her to reflect on things

We loved to go to a movie and watch it. Afterward we would talk about the movie and all the parts we liked and didn’t like and thought could have been done better, when we saw Titanic it was funny though for at least an hour after the movie we didn’t even talk. I guess all the years of me being a titanic fan and all the different research and books and videos on TV gave us a sense of awe for the real tragic as it unfolded on the big screen, Hats off to James Cameron for his work on that movie, often don’t find a movie based on factual events that doesn’t take some liberties with “Rewriting” history. I think that is what impressed us the most about Titanic.

Standing out in line at one store at midnight to get the VHS of Titanic, amazing what you and your sister can get into sometimes

Lets see what other movies were there. OH the re-release of The Star-Trilogy and the Final much anticipated Release of The Phantom Menace. Nothing like standing in line on the first day of the movie and feeling the Electric energy in the crowd then sitting there in front of the big screen. Then feeling the hairs stand on your head when the first few cords of the Star Wars theme is belted out. Oh that was grand being there with your sister for that.

 The theater was noisy until that first note of that all to well known them music sounded then it was dead silent and you spent the rest of the movie in a state of awe. Your feet were planted firmly on the ground but your head was flying in the clouds.

It is to bad she couldn’t have been alive to see the other movies or even the Lord of the Rings Movies, She had read all four of them from the Hobbit to the Return of the King.

And of course we have the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe that is coming out soon. How she would have loved to see all 4 of those movies on the big screen. Going to the movies now has never been the same it just doesn’t feel right any more which I guess is why I don’t go that often even if there are things I would want to see.

The way I look at it is that it will not be as good without going with her. So I guess I will just wait for it to come out on rental or in Showtime or HBO or Stars.

Hmmm what else was there, web page design, that was always a trip since her and I have totally different styles and taste and ideas. But most usually we could come up with things to come to a compromise as far as webpage’s go.

And if all else failed there was always the venting and ranting either me about work or her about her work. It really didn’t matter we always found something to talk about with each other.

Sometimes we would spend the time talking about her book or her poems. Oh how she would have been so proud to know that one was published in a book. Amazing still we found out about this only a couple of days after her funeral.

Her poem being published was a healing factor and that was something of a major deal to know that she has had a poem published in a book called “America At the Millennium: The best Poems and Poets of the 20^th Century”. If you find this book on a shelf turn to page 126 and look for the poem called “The Music Box”

This is who my sister was and these are my thoughts on her as this Christmas 2005 is 20 days away as of today. What do you think? What do you know? What you think you may know is not what you may get. But this is who she was to me