R.I.P. Sally

A few years ago I received an e-mail that referred to the DASH. Go to any graveyard, look at any famous person's biography, the date of birth and the date of death is unimportant. What is important is the dash between the two.

Unfortunately I can only write about the last sixteen years of Sally's DASH – the DASH that was terminated today.

So here goes with Sally's DASH.

I first met Sally about 20 years ago but our paths crossed very briefly, the timing was not right the people around us were not conducive to exploring a friendship. But sixteen and a half years ago I needed to move. The rising crime in my neighbourhood, the fact that the property was too big and expensive for a single person (who was a teacher) to upkeep. I looked around for a possible estate agent. When I saw her name and picture the vague memory of a few years back surfaced and I contacted her. She took me around several properties but we always came back to the property that was the duplex next door to her duplex.

Once the sale was complete she gave me advice on removal and invited me to her place for dinner on the evening of the move. And so it all began.

We enjoyed the same music and the same movies, we were kindred spirits.

We were both only children so basically adopted one another as family. I had 3 children – 2  girls and a boy and she had 3 children, 2 boys and a girl. The similarities continued. We had the same sense of humour. Both were quite happy living alone. We enjoyed our solitude but all the time we knew the other was right there, ready to come flying in to support. We listened and did not judge. We encouraged each other when faced with difficult times. We were ready with a hanky, tissue, shoulder or joke when required.

I hated it when she went away. I felt insecure. I needed to know she was there. This may sound as if we lived in each other's pockets but nothing could be further from the truth. Sometimes days or weeks went by without seeing one another or chatting to one another BUT we knew the other was there. When I came home after dancing lessons, it was always a comfort to me to see Sally's open door – I felt that she was ready should I need her.

Sally had a quality that I admired. She had the ability to tell someone to take the shortest route to hell in such a way that they would enjoy the trip! Confrontation scared me but Sally was able to deal with confrontations in a calm logical way. The end result was usually that everyone went quite happily on their way. She had an extremely sensible head on her shoulders.

This past year has been a difficult one for Sally. She just could not get well. She had 4 stays in hospital in Pinetown before the trip to Springs. She arrived in Springs to visit her daughter on the Thursday before Christmas. On the Monday (23^rd Dec) she was hospitalised and faced the final battle. A battle that she lost today.

Sally your belief and my belief tells me that we are still connected but I know that I am going to miss you. My words cannot describe the very special friendship that we enjoyed. I will miss you.

Sally - rest in peace; enjoy the reunion with your loved ones who were waiting for you with open arms.

A mutual friend wrote this and it is also what I will remember.

"What I remember most about her was her gentle nature... and her flashing “Irish” eyes!   After her long battle, may she now rest in peace in some beautiful place." (A message from Carolyn)