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Sometimes people really suck. They steal. They cheat. They hurt themselves and others. It’s so easy to get down about it. Cat’s bike got stolen the other day. She didn’t want it anymore and had planned to get rid of it, but it still sucks. We’ve had our car stolen. Once—or was it twice?—my sister-in-law had Christmas presents stolen out of her car. Christmas presents.

People can really suck.

But then I think about the golden people I know. I’ve known a few. But thinking about one person in particular always restores my confidence in people. I’ve blogged about her before, I know. She was an email friend of mine who died of diabetes. I got to know her from an online group for diabetics. We used to email each other everyday. Big long email discussions. She was the nicest person.

She found out I hadn’t had a diabetic eye exam for a long time and didn’t have insurance or money for one, and she sent me a check to cover the cost. She didn’t want to be paid back. She told me to pay it forward.

I could talk to her about anything and she’d understand. And even more amazing, she’d be genuinely interested.

I have all of our emails backed up. I keep thinking someday I’ll be able to read back through them and reminisce. It’s been years. I still can’t bring myself to do it. I miss her too much.

Ever known someone who could only be described as golden?