Obituary Of A Dear Friend

This past weekend, a dear friend of mine died. Actually, I haven't fully accepted that it really has happened, but when I go back to check, it's always the same conclusion. Dead. I have told myself for years that this would happen 'any day now', but now that it's here, I'm a little in shock.
She has been a good friend to me for the last 16 years, and I gave her more than enough of my attention & time, too. She was there for me, any time, day or night, any day of the week. I looked forward to re-living old experiences with her, and anticipated the new, exciting ones, too. Many sleepless nights I spent quietly with her, until I was lulled to sleep. Many painful hours, when nothing could distract me, she comforted me and kept me company. When my children were small, she was always available to entertain my children for a while, so I could grab a nap or get some dishes done. She has made me laugh and cry, sometimes when it seemed I'd forgotten how, or she caught me off guard...I've learned alot from her--she could spew information about any topic you could think of, and she could cause the imagination to run wild. She has told me and shown me breath-taking pictures of so many beautiful places on this earth, and I hope to someday go see some of them for myself. She also exposed me to some of the ugliness of the world, and made me thankful for the blessings in my life. She had a lot of connections--she even introduced me to Oprah and Dr. Phil! I'm not sure how I will cope without her...
She was always easily turned on...and off, for that matter. Until Saturday night.
I was watching my hubby work in the basement, and our boys decided to watch a DVD. But they came in a rush down the stairs and reported that something was terribly wrong. They tried to turn the television on, but nothing happened! We remained calm for the moment, and said we would be up shortly to fix the problem. But when we tried to turn it on, too, nothing happened. Upon pressing the POWER button, there was the familiar 'click' of TV On, followed by an involuntary 'click' of TV Off! We tried several different methods to revive her, but our efforts could not bring her back. She was gone.
In recent years, I often said, if our TV ever kicked the bucket, I wouldn't replace it right away. We would learn to live without it, and maybe even enjoy life a little more. I think it may be harder than I thought.
In lieu of flowers, friends may make a donation towards the purchase of a new one. Hubby is dreaming of a big screen...