Good night sweet Leopard

Sometimes life is funny. Not 'ha ha' funny, although sometimes it is that as well. Mostly it just throws you a curve when you least expect it to usually knocking the wind out of you and sometimes fucking you over a barrel. It can sometimes impact your life with devastation and trauma or sometimes it's a whirlwind of excitement. But rarely is it boring and mundane...that would be too easy.

I'm sitting at work cranky and irritable. Not a place I want to be when I'm in this mood, however here I sit. I have obligations so here I am. Truthfully I didn't want to get out of bed and I got out of bed at the last moment possible to get dressed and get myself together. I only had about 10 minutes on the computer to check email, Facebook and to catch up on Twitter. And that's when the curve ball came as per norm out of nowhere.

For as much as I bitched in my previous blog about Twitter and how shitty people have been to each other lately...I logged in to find out that one of our own (@ddstolenleopard) had passed away. At first, after looking at the date (April 1st), the first thought was someone's sick and twisted idea of an April Fools prank. But really, who would do such a thing? It had to be true. Sadly, from what I understand, it's very much a reality. The support I read and saw amongst each other made me honestly proud to be a member of our "family" we have created. No bitching, no arguing...just support for each other. That's what we should be doing, not fussing and fighting over stupid things that don't matter. I was stunned just like everyone else at her passing. Did I know her well? No. I'll be honest, I didn't. We probably only tweeted a few times to each other - but even so, she was still someone's loved one, and She will be missed by those who loved and knew her. From what I gather it was quick, sudden and very unexpected. May she rest in peace. My heart goes out to her family and friends at this time.

Sandy would want (I would think) for everyone to pick themselves up and go on, remember her, and absolutely have a smile thinking of her listening to Duran. She loved Duran like we all do (Simon in particular from what I understand)...I can't imagine that she would want people to stop loving them just as much as she had because she's gone. I think as well as that; at the risk of sounding  cliché;  she would want us all to live for right now. "All you need is now" is an ironic notion when it comes to this situation, but in the reality of it it's fitting...right now is all you have. You can't worry about the past, it's done and over with. You can look on it with fondness, sadness or regret but you can't change the past or let it consume you. Learn from past mistakes (yours and others) and move on. The future is yours to create and what you make it. Learn, move forward and live. Create joy for others and for yourself. Have sorrows, shed tears, laugh with others and at yourself, and love. Live your life. Be the best you that you can be. That way, when it's all over, and you are in that place...you'll have no regrets.

I thought it fitting that I would sign off with the words of Simon Le Bon. I realize that normally they tend to dedicate "Ordinary World" to loved ones we've lost... however, considering Sandy's Twitter handle, I thought I'd leave some different words.

Do you know where we are?
I'm longing for the dark, of our nocturnal life
It begins and ends with you
Don't spill my secret

You were once running wild, hiding in the morning mist
Game demands I make you mine
I thought that I could resist, but the leopard in you silently preyed on me

I made my way back home (Did you follow her?)
I handled her with care (Were you in control?)
So elegant and sleek (Were you not afraid?)
I need her to be near (Does she belong to you?)
Don't spill my secret

You were once running wild, hiding in the morning mist
Game demands I make you mine
I thought that I could resist, but the leopard in you silently preyed on me

Deserted by my friends (Don't they understand?)
She's so much more than them (How could they compare?)
So now she's just for me (No one else can see)
I watch her while she sleeps (Be sure she dreams of you)
Don't spill my secret

(It's been quite a while) Since we were last outside
(And do you miss the chase?) Now that we've both been tamed
(Inside this gilded cage) Prisoners of our thoughts
(You saved me from myself) Don't spill my secret...

"Today a man was taken from his apartment on the New Jersey shore and arrested under suspicion of entrapment of a wild animal. Police, after forced entry, discovered a caged leopard in the building! The fully-grown feline was said to be surprisingly domesticated by zoological experts who gave her a thorough examination before preparing her for relocation.

A large crowd was gathered outside to watch the beautiful creature as a giant cage was lowered slowly onto the street by a crane. From here the leopard was transferred onto the back of a truck for the journey ahead. A startled onlooker said, "It's extraordinary to think that any human being could have lived in such close quarters with such a dangerous animal." Police are saying the captor was simply besotted with the creature and barely left her side.

It's alleged that he hunted her in the wild and expertly forged documents to facilitate her illegal export to the United States of America. The incident has already created much controversy and is now likely to leave to a major international investigation into the life of The Man who Stole a Leopard."

One Last Glimpse,

~K