Meteor Blades (from the comments below):
Four years gone. Hard to believe. Her efforts here put a smile on so many faces and provided a soothing respite for everyone embroiled in the political fight.
From the obituary in 2016: R.I.P., Tricia Wyse. There's a big hole here without you. Excerpt:No matter what mood I was in—and some days could be pretty grim—I always counted on getting a half-dozen or more laughs every day by visiting Tricia Wyse’s diary filled with talking cats, dogs and birds. I was never disappointed. Sometimes, I commented, taking note of a photo and caption I thought was the day’s best. Mostly I just looked and laughed and got on with a day made better by my visit to the Pootie Queen’s pie fight-free domain. Obviously, I was not alone.
Yesterday, like thousands of other Kossacks, I switched on my computer and was stunned to learn that our sister Tricia had left us. I texted an OMG to my best friend who was also shocked.
Years ago, a couple of friends who view me as a tough guy who is focused on nothing but politics wondered why I so often praised Tricia and commented favorably in those “pootie” and “woozle” diaries. It is simple, really. Having compassion not just for human beings but also for animals is all part of seeking a transformation of politics-as-usual. Tricia made that point for us every day when she was able. In that way, and adding a touch of goofy humor to the mix, was how she built community, day after day after day. She, in fact, epitomized community.
Once, a few years back, Tricia and her posse engineered a takeover of the April 1 Recommended List, filling it with nothing but pootie, woozle and birdie diaries. Yesterday, it was easy to imagine that she had also a hand in taking over the Rec List again given all the diaries of remembrance that appeared there.
As hundreds of commenters have noted since the bad news became known, Tricia was warm-hearted, gracious and kind to all who entered those diaries. Formally or just by association, her visitors were all part of the PWB Peeps Gang. And many posted photos of their own animals, some of them long ago departed for the Great Beyond, as Tricia now is.