The Passing of Charlotte: My Online Mother
by Jeremy Smith
In our vastly diverse yet small MPN community, something unique exists, a very dynamic group of individuals who have come together for support.
To the newbies it’s a strange place for now their lives have been thrust upside down and sideways. There is of course a group of us who have been at this for more than a decade now and as time passes so have our friends. Today it’s time for another passing.
Bonnie Atkins emailed me December 23rd with news of the passing of Charlotte. Some of you may have only known her as chub@cybermesa.com. It’s an interesting web of relationships we build with each other and sometimes we lose contact with each other because of differences with list owners.
In many cases we develop strong bonds which are never broken. When a friend passes I am reminded how unfortunate it truly is to not know everyone on every list. In my case Charlotte was my online Mother. She took me under her wing and would often say things to me like, “ Jeremy, you need to marry a good Jewish Woman. You will not be happy until you marry a Jewish woman.”
I told her she did not know what she was talking about. And she responded back by saying. “You are not so wise. It’s not your fault. Your young age robs you of the ability to see your soul. To see the man you will become someday.” And when I married a Jewish woman she was full of praise and happiness for me.
See Charlotte was not just a gifted woman. She was outspoken, full of 
life, funny as hell and damn smart. She loved being Jewish and the state of Israel. Her passion for Sheldon, the man she loved, was a gift for all of us to see. Sharing with me her love for Sheldon was her greatest gift to me.
I close with a quote from the late Steve Job. These words remind so much of Charlotte as she was a “Think Different” personality as well as legend from the early days of posting. I hope you enjoy them and encourage all of you to please share your stories of Charlotte.
“When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is – everything around you that you call life, was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. ,,, Steve Jobs
© Jeremy Smith and MPNforum.com, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jeremy Smith and MPNforum.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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