I recently returned to Mudcat after a longer hiatus than usual. Due to a virus I just got back on line after nearly a week. Shocked at the news. A sweet and highly conscious soul, a bright and intelligent mind, a creative and loving heart-- that was Kat to me.

Back in the day I considered Kat one of the kindred souls on the 'Cat, like many she was one of the first to welcome me, but more than that we shared a similar spiritual view and often talked of things besides music. I was pretty innocent when I first joined, and was really unfamiliar with the kind of negative behavior that has become common on the net, and which would occasionally surface here. Naively I felt that hostility and cruelty didn't belong in a place devoted to music-- the love of my life. What I DID love about Kat-- and truthfully, most Mudcatters--was their dedication to music and this community.
When some one got critical or vitriolic, Kat was often the one who would notice and salve the wound. Often I would end up joking about it! She also was one of the small community of people here who understood the spiritual space that inspired my own creative direction, and I wish now that I had continued to share with her; I know she would have been a most appropriate mentor. I feel that loss too now.
As I read this thread, I see many of the people who likewise made this community special to me-- offering knowledge, and more so wisdom; encouragement; the pure love of the music; and the willingness to be real.
I'm doing a lot these days to protect my community from fracking. and there are lots of other distractions-- but I want to be here more. I don't want to make the same mistake of believing you will all be here forever. I want to enjoy your presence as I wish I had enjoyed hers more. I have no doubt that Kat knew exactly what lay on the other side of that doorway and that she has made her way to the ancestors easily and effortlessly, and I feel sure she watches over all those she loves as she always has done. I wish comfort to all who grieve her, and I am sure I will stop crying SOON.