Bwah117 wrote:
Hi, Wildbill. Just wanted to say I'm sorry to hear about your loss. The only death around me was a good friend of mine, many years ago, and that hurt a LOT. I can only imagine what you're going through with the loss of a family member. I won't try to offer words of comfort, as they'd just sound hollow at a time like this. What I will say, however, is "I'm sorry.", and offer my heartfelt condolences.
I appreciate your condolences very much, Bwah117! You know, when I write stories, fictional characters suffer grievous loses of family members and companions who perish heroically, either by giving lifetimes of support to survivors or through direct conflicts with deadly adversaries.
My mother (and father) were the former. Everything I've been able to accomplish is by virtue of their support and the values they've inculcated within me. I suppose what I'm trying to say is what I've experienced in loss recently and the effect it's had on me will hopefully help me become better at everything I attempt going forward - including writing - because the stories we enjoy in our gaming hobby are actually anecdotes of what we all endure in real-life experiences.
A tribute both of my late parents deserve is to praise them for teaching me, by example, to feel empathy for humans who suffer for any reason. The challenge for me is the express these emotions eloquently in the words of the stories I write. I would hope to do that as well as the words of comfort you extended to me.
So, you see, nothing you said sounds hollow to me. On the contrary, I would say you expressed them very well, and once again, I thank you!