We can wish for so much more of you, Ronni, but we can't ask for more than you already give so generously to us.

I'm sure your will to see through as much of this current mess as possible is true for all of us. It's so mind boggling to find our country in the hands of such corruption. Not sure how many of us will see our way through all the healing that needs to happen.

For now, we can wish you comfort and send our love your way.

You continue to inspire me also. Thank you for taking your time and most importantly your energy to share this part of your life with us. Wishes for less pain and more time.

I am one of your anonymous readers who gains much and gives nothing in return. I know I must comment and thank you at least once before your ship sails.

I found your blog when searching for information when my mother’s health was declining. I found your post “Last Best Lesson“ and simply continued to read, to learn, to laugh, to think.

Your community of commentators is as helpful as what you write.
I never fail to read every one. The names have become as familiar as long time friends.

You never know who or how far your words of wisdom reach.
Thank you.
Susan in Texas

You are my friend that I think about as if you lived next door. Over the years we’ve laughed and cried and been grumpy together. You’ve inspired me to live fully, absorb losses, treasure surprises, and fume with passion. Old friend you are still of young heart and I am so grateful that you continue to teach all of us how to wind down with dignity and grace.

My gratitude again for another beautiful, heartfelt and heart-ful post. I just love you.

Virtual hug for you!

Champion. Thank you.

My wife, Carlin, told me about your blog, which I've been following ever since. We're all on this journey called life. Someone once told me that "life is a journey we each do separately, together." Sharing your journey has been a great gift to me as I continue doing mine. May you have peace, joy, and some comfort knowing you have changed the lives of many and brought ease to us in this difficult time where there is so much personal, political, and social dis-ease.

Perhaps for the first time, I'm not so sure I want to see how this ends, because I find myself wondering if it will end with me and like-minded people in gulags somewhere in the vast empty places in this formerly great country. Flawed, of course--what human institution isn't?--but aspiring to be fair, free, the land of opportunity that it was/strove to be for most of its short history. Freedom of speech, the press, secure in your own home... I just re-read the Bill of Rights, and, whatever happens to the United States, that document will serve as a guide and a hope for people for generations to come. Assuming there *are* generations to come.
I am grateful to you, Ronni, as I've said before: you helped me find an approach to aging. I am sorry for your pain, and I got a kick out of your line about disregarding dosage warnings. Your profound engagement with the world, your integrity, and your great generosity of spirit are a bright beacon in a pretty bleak time.

Hi Ronni
Such a heartfelt response, living in Australia, we watch from a distance and my wife's brother and his family live in Missouri and Arkansas so we hear about the troubling times you are all living through.
Your reflections today, have made me think how sad we will all be, when you are no longer able to share this blog with us, as a follower for many years your posts are also welcome in my in-box and today I was having a not so good day (working at home, isolation etc) but your message was a reminder of how precious our time is and how worthwhile it is to stay engaged with the world and to play a part in making it a better place as you did in earlier times - we all have to keep fighting for a more just and equitable world.
Take good care with my warmest wishes
Ralph

Perhaps your mother and great-aunt had different personalities, or died when the times were not so cataclysmic? But you're you, and I am grateful. The best way to say thanks is to continue to advocate for the causes and changes you have long written about.

Ronnie,
I am so sorry you are suffering.

Luci

I admire your strength and think it is absolutely amazing that you keep up with this blog when you have so much to deal with. You are quite an inspiration!

We are truly blessed by your continuing engagement in life.
It is hard to believe that your journey began 3 years ago.Time flies no matter what.
Therefore, I treasure every moment you spend with us.Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Sending wishes for peace and love.
Marena

Your honesty tugs gently at my heart. At the same time, your words are signaling the inescapable parting that lies ahead for all of us who have gotten to know you and care so deeply for you. I continue to be grateful to you for showing me the way forward, even when I find myself resisting its pull.

Your words are inspiring and I wish you the best in your journey.

Ronni, you are an amazing human being! I have always hoped that my life would - somehow - make a positive difference....in the lives of others, or maybe even the world! Possibly this wish is a little egotistic. I guess I don't want to live (for however many years I have - currently 80 years) - without having some kind of impact, hopefully a good impact. Well, YOU are definitely having an impact and a very positive one! You are a person of whom many will remember and say to others "I knew Ronni! What a wonderful and positive influence she was to so many!" Please know this and think about it every day! Thank you.

Once again, you have written truth and honesty, and your readers have done the same. I am not a long-time follower--only because I didn't know about this blog earlier--but I shall continue to read it as long as you write it....and I will go back and read some of the earlier writings, too. You lead an amazing group of people who find such incredible ways to express what is deeply felt, but also what is amusing. What a great combination. I thank each of you, and you, especially, Ronni.

You have accomplished a purpose that few are able to do. You have shared so much important information and insight into aging, politics, a meaningful life and now your very personal cancer journey.

But for me, most of all, you have acquired many intelligent thoughtful decent commenters, who see things and problems in this world with our very dangerous president, much as I do. I find it comforting to know there are many like us out there, just not too many where I live...but enough to make my life pleasant in my old age.
The best to you Ronni and I feel you will be around longer than you might think.

Hi Ronni -- this has me thinking about a song by Edwin Starr: "War -huh- yeah, what is it good for? Absolutely nothin' " -- only I'm inserting "pain" in place of war. I understand that, realistically, pain serves important functions, but find it hard to think what those might be when it simply comes along with the decline of our bodies in age or terminal illness and provides no real 'heads up' to which we can respond and fix. Thank goodness there are medications that can at least help ease that, and, in some cases as you've chosen, final options that can prevent the last and most extreme episodes.

Thank you for continuing to share your thoughts and feelings as long as you're able and keep fighting the good fight. It's quite a journey that you're on and we're right there with you.

Ronni, I'm a faithful reader but very infrequent participant in the wonderful, compassionate conversations you inspire. Your courage and clarity, wisdom and wit, and passionate engagement with the broken, beloved world you are preparing to leave touch my heart and engage my mind. The world is blessed to have you in it and that blessing will live on, even as, one of these days, not soon but too soon, we will have to go without you. And I think all of us will have to trust that today's young people will take up the task after we are gone of mending the world that is becoming more and more broken day by day. The outpouring in Minneapolis and St Paul of caring and creative mutual aid, citizen neighborhood protection, blooming street art, and peaceful demonstrations provides hope. And thank you for the hope you have given us all.

I admire your grit and your courage, so ... keep on truckin'!

Your last paragraph is a way of being we could all adopt whether we know we are dying or not. Be at peace.

This is wise, touching and brilliant. I will keep it forever.

This is not how your blog and writings were to unfold. From when I first started reading here I soon believed there would be an ever expanding number of TGB followers. There would be increasing attention and attraction including to the issues of aging, the language used by others diminishing older people. Eventually, attention would be paid to you in mainstream media so even more people would listen and engage. Would that I had the ability to facilitate that happening.

Time...more time has been needed to get there, though your words will continue to resonate with many long after you cease adding new ones. Many of us who enjoy visiting here will continue the drum beat to the best of our ability.

You’ve accentuated and modeled how to produce and maintain a blog that demands truth, respect, civility, caring for one another whatever our views if we want to participate here. I’ve especially appreciated your take on politics during this uniquely critical time in our nation's history.

Only in recent years have I come to realize how much I have allowed involvement here to become an important activity in my life. There will be a vacuum when the day comes I’m no longer able to touch base here to read your new thoughts, ideas, criticisms, joys, humor and reminiscences.

Meanwhile, I’ll wish for you many more days, weeks, months and longer to be cognizant, able to appreciate and enjoy life with minimal or even no pain. Selfishly, I hope that time will include writing here occasionally. On the other hand, and more importantly, I want you to do whatever gives you the most pleasure and comfort through the time to come, including to whenever you might choose to cease writing here. Positive caring wishes are being sent up the coast to you!

You are a very special Lady Ronnie.......I wish you strength , peace of mind and relief of all physical pain.......Thank you for bringing together this group of like-minded people. I have learnt so much from you all. The sharing on this blog could never happen in real life!
Most of us would love to be missed as much as you will be missed.

Thank you so much for your new and profound post. I imagine we would all like to be able to go years into the future to see how all this suffering plays out in our country and the world. Maybe it is a gift that we will not be able to see much.

I've been following along and learning since your days in Maine. It has been a blessing to find wisdom here on a regular basis.

When the time comes, know that you will be missed. Greatly.

Thank you for letting us know how things are going with you. I have read all your posts and appreciated them. I will miss them when your time comes.

Thank you, Ronni. You and your thoughtful blog are a gift to us all.

Another long time reader here who has enjoyed......and learned so much from....your posts over many years.
Sending you love and sunshine and gentle hugs
Take care
Cathy

I only found you several months ago, but once I did I marveled at your writing (and sent you a private email saying so, before exploring TGB in earnest and learning just who Ronni Bennett is). I’m just glad I found you when I did.

I love TGB, and the Alex & Ronni Show, and Peter’s Sunday Music, and Interesting Stuff & all the regular contributors here—and most of all, you Ronni. Just wanted you to know.

Is it too early for you to vote? We could use it.

The sky is quiet tonight unlike the helicopters the last ones. Maybe at 11 when curfew begins the sound will begin. Or maybe it’s quiet because the hater in chief did nothing as horrible as he had.

Death - the thought of mine or that of others - never hurt as much as reading this, Ronni. You’re practical, witty, brilliant. I’m not sure how to think tonight on a night I’m already tired fr work, pain normally felt and pain bc of the horrors of this country.

Find a way to stay a bit longer. As long as you can endure.

Ronnie, I will be in grateful, appreciative awe of you for as long as I live. You are stunning!

Just thank you. Don’t remember anymore how I came across your blog. But when my best friend received her terminal diagnosis we both read your honest portrayal of where you were. She died unexpectedly 6 weeks after we knew she wouldn’t survive a year and I have found your blog comforting. We used the 12 step program slogan One Day at a time—and sometimes only a few minutes.
I admire your honesty and perseverance. i wish you peaceful pain free times.

Peace be with you.

Your post really struck a chord. I was estranged from a dear friend at the end of her life and thought she wouldn't welcome me as a visitor in her ill-health. But I kept tabs on her situation and oh! your words of weight loss, gradual detachment from life etc are so, so familiar. I know your words are true and from the heart. I deeply repent that I didn't make more of an effort to overcome the bitterness of years and meet up with her ..... but too late for me.

A small plea. I hope your words of wisdom, as also peoples' comments, remain available for solace. I come by and read old posts for comfort.

Que sera sera. Life goes on. There is no beginning and no end to the circle of life. The more life changes, the more it stays the same. One evil presence will go...only to be replaced by another. But, its the same with the good guys. And I rejoice that the good guys outnumber the others.

Again, peace be with you.

Very grateful for your words, you give me hope in human nature and... in America.
I wish to become as clever and good as you are.
In France, the number of covid cases are completely declining , I think it will be soon the same in your country.
I send my love

You, and this community that you have created, continue to amaze me. The honesty, love, care, and depth of your posts and those that comment are what remind about what being human is about. Thanks for all the encouragement and the many moments when your words and the words of others fill me to the brim.
Carol

I didn't get to read your post until the day after it was written, so I am slow in responding. What I've always appreciated about your writing is your frank, this-is-the-way-it-is style. No sappy mooning over things that can't be, yet a determination to take what is and make the best of it, kept going by endless curiosity. You are a true journalist, though you didn't spend a day in a classroom learning it. Like me, your training came in the rough-and-tumble world of on the job. I salute you, and wish you all the best. I will miss this blog terribly. Oh, and I sure wish you could be around to vote!

All of us die a little everyday, that is the law of life; but few of us keep, until the very end, the curious outlook on life, the interest , the expectation that something better may be around the corner - like you do.
I wish I could express myself better in your language, but I speak from the heart and that is a universal language.
Thank you Ronni for sharing your wisdom and joy of living

You are my hero. Truly, you are. I read often, comment almost never, but I want you to know how deeply touched I am that you would share your story with all of us. Peace, dear one.

Thank you. As a long time reader, but a never-until-now-responder, I want now to add my voice of appreciation for your kindness, generosity and dedication to your chosen, final contribution to the world. Your words uplift and inspire me, by your honesty and willingness to share your experience in such glorious ways. Sure wish you didn't live so far away, and that I didn't meet you long ago!

Ronnie, I'm so sorry and sad to hear you are experiencing great discomfort. A word of caution about over the counter pain meds - acetaminophen in the "recommended" dosage to achieve relief is OK for two or three days but is hepatotoxic if taken for longer periods. Nausea and weakness (the latter due to hypoglycemia) are symptoms of toxicity.

I know you have many messages and may not get to this one but I hope it helps.

Ronni, remember we have a date.

Washington Square Park, NYC.

We'll finally meet.

We'll walk your old neighbourhood, you'll show me your favorite haunts,

I'll thank you for writing this beautiful blog.

We'll turn a corner, see a sign-

Ronni's Place.

Look who's here?

A voice from inside.

Look who's here!

All your internet friends greet you.

Take a seat,

Listen to stories,

Our stories mingled with yours.

A cat stretches out on an antique piano.

Someone cracks a joke.

We laugh,

We're home.

Internet hugs heading your way.

From your Montreal fan.

Since 2004.

Ronni, a big heartfelt thank you for your hard work and commitment to your blog for so long. I have been reading your posts for many years, since you were living in New York and looking for work. You have opened my eyes and mind to the pervasive ageism we all experience and given me the tools and language to do my small bit to challenge those who promote it. Your community of readers sharing their experiences of aging has been a wonderful source of knowledge, comfort and support.

You've made a difference in the world. Your words have touched many here including me. I hope you continue to be up to writing and reading. I hope you'll have strength and peace. Thank you.

In JANUARY I had a near death experience related to health issues I have been dealing with for a few years and a recent surgery gone bad. As I sat in the bed of the Emergency Room, listening to the machines monitoring me, I was terrified. And since I am a solo ager, I knew I would die alone. Well, I did not die that night, but something about me did. I'm not afraid anymore. For some reason I have made my peace with death and will keep going as best as I can. Every day is different. I just worry about my beloved cat. I tell you this because you have helped me get to this point. Your honesty calms me, your sense of humor brings me pleasure and your courage and determination inspire me. Thank you for being you.