Re: In memoriam: Dorothy Day

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from cld@xxxxxxxx (Carl Distefano) on Sun, 17 Nov 2002
15:34:21 -0500

That news hurts. But she was going through hell; she was so brave in enduring
a course of treatment that absolutely sounded, in her increasingly rare
postings to NB, and in a few private communications when she still had
strength, like a medical torture chamber (she had inoperable cancer). Dorothy
was just a terrific person, and computer savvy in the pre-Gates way (someone
who really struggled with and mastered her machine, who learned and didn't
forget). She was more of a lurker here (as some of us are on NB, where she had
the answers); but in both forums she was a contributor in the true sense:
someone who didn't speak unless she had something real to add. And her
additions were always original, often a total relevation to everyone else (her
in-passing reference to all those Word-4-Word filters, for example, sitting in
Hungary, ready for picking), and always directly pertinent. Her posts were
packed with thought, and a relevance to getting work done. Even when she took
issue, she was genteel and well-reasoned. I've never been an adherent of the
notion that maillists are a substitute for friends or real life, a "virtual
family", but it was thrilling to correspond with Dorothy because you knew you'd
always learn something useful, that you couldn't always reciprocate, but that
the exchange would be simply delightful anyway. I've been missing her badly
for several years. Now she's gone.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
-----------------------------