Once Upon A Time…

… there was a family in Secret Location, Colorado, who made their living from the land. And like many such families, they were strong and honest folk, and what blessings they were given, they readily shared with others.

They knew the value of hard work, and like most farm families, managed to squeeze 25 hours of it into every day. What possessions they had, they acquired through liberal investment of sweat equity. They valued strength, and kindness, and liberty, and through this wonderful tool called the Internet, they met a bunch of like-minded people. And they decided to hold a gathering for their friends, a weekend of fun and fellowship, shooting, and the best damned food ever put on a plate.

I was privileged to be invited to the first of those gatherings, and have attended every one since. They became family, and that circle of friends – from all walks of life, and every political and religious flavor you can envision – became my tribe. Those trips to Blogorado every year are the highlights of my year.

And the matriarch of that clan opened her home to this motley collection of gun bloggers, med bloggers, freaks, cops, EMT's, scientists, pilots, accountants, IT professionals, defense contractors, atheists, agnostics, Christians and rugged individualists, and made them feel like family. No small trick, that.

And now she is gone, her battle with cancer at an end.

While the Farm Family mourns her passing, please stop by and give your condolences.

I am struck by the old saying that friends are the family that you choose for yourself. I'm not really close with my own family, and I was privileged to feel like a member of hers.

Tonight, I'm going to whisper a prayer of thanks that her suffering is over, and take a few moments to celebrate the life of a lively lady with a huge heart and a gleeful cackle of a laugh, and be thankful I knew her for the few short years I did.

For some reason, I'm craving scrappy nibbles in milk gravy right now…