Tonys Chamber - Colleen's Page

My best friend was an online friend. Someone who isn't on the net could never start to understand what an experience knowing Colleen was for me. I have never met anyone that I could be myself around before Colleen. Because I'm so complicated. She was someone that I could be at my best, or my worse, around and she could appreciate me for who I am. That was a totally new experience for me online or off. Somebody once said that a true friend can see into your soul like it was a window. Colleen not only looked into my soul but also reached in and touched something very deep. Soon after Colleen emailed me and signed my guestbook for the first time I learned that we had somethings in common and she answered some questions for me that I'd always had about myself.

I have saved all of the emails that she and I exchanged and most of our ICQ chats. Proof that Colleen and I were close was that I downloaded ICQ to chat with her. Nobody but Colleen could have ever talked me into downloading ICQ, because I have always been a mIRC fan and having ICQ once before wasn't a pleasant experience for me. Downloading ICQ to chat with Colleen lead to many happy hours online that I'll always remember fondly.

Colleen first signed my guestbook on Nov. 30, 1998, and emailed me on the same day. My first reaction to visiting her Blondies Castle site was sadness but after I had visited the whole site I realized that she'd made a webpage that showed the full range of human emotions; from extreme anger and sadness to joy and creativity. Colleen's website went past what most websites are able to present, and didn't have to use a mega Java applet or a long JavaScript to do it.

I remember coming to Colleen with my personal problems last year while my daddy was sick and her listening and giving me her sympathy. There was nothing too emotional, too personal, or too weird that I couldn't share it with Colleen. No matter what I came to Colleen with, she would always have something to say that would make me think.

I have been addicted to HTML and just learning new things to do with my webpage for awhile. I think that I also turned Colleen into an addict. I was always learning new things to do to my webpage and then showing them to Colleen. Colleen and I exchanged several emails and ICQ messages about different HTML tags and the uses of onMouseover scripts, and I think it's safe to say that she and I both were having a ball. I would find some use for the new tricks I had learned on my page and she would apply to them either to her Blondies Castle page or to her Blondies Backyard page. I have learned several new webpage tricks and a few new things about the computer since Colleen passed away, and it makes me sad that she's not here for me to show these new tricks to.

If HTML and the basics of Windows were my strong points, then making webpage graphics was Colleen's talent. You only need to go to her Blondies Backyard page to see that making webpage graphics really is an art, and that it was what Colleen was good at. I have some graphics that Colleen made for me stored on disk, and they are my treasures; someone that isn't on line could never understand that.

In late May 1999, Colleen was very excited about the movie AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME that was going to be released soon. I didn't tell her, but I was sure that this movie wouldn't be that great because the first Austin Powers movie wasn't. I hadn't planned on going to see AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME. I know that Colleen didn't get to see AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME because that movie wasn't released until June 13, 1999. AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME stayed on at our local theater for awhile, and I thought that maybe I should go see it for Colleen, since she didn't get to see that movie. I was surprised to see that AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME was much better than the first Austin Powers movie. There were times, while watching that film that I'd start thinking about Colleen and want to cry, but the movie's comedy would pick me up and keep me from crying. Seeing AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME was both fun and sad. I guess maybe you could say that seeing AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, with its ups and downs, was kind of like knowing Colleen; they were both experiences that I'm a richer person for today.

Hearing that Colleen had passed away was one of the saddest experiences in my life. It's an ICQ message that I wish I had never received, but I'm glad that it came from Ola; who was a mutual friend of Colleen and I. Even though Ola couldn't see my face or hear my voice, I'm almost certain that she knew that tears were streaming down my face. I should have been happy for Colleen because she wasn't sick anymore and because she was in a much better place, but I was sad at the loss of the best friend I ever had; and that was the ultimate act of selfishness on my part. Thank you Ola for helping me through a hard year.

I want to thank the people at Intelcities for the Tributes to Colleen and for keeping and maintaining her: Blondie's O.C.D. Page, Colleens Memory, and her webpages.

If there is one thing that I do know about Colleen, it's that she loved her children very much and that she and was very proud of them. I'm going to ask you to please pray for Colleen's children: Leanne Deyo, Krista Deyo, and Ricky Smith.


In Loving Memory Of Colleen Smith The Best Friend That I Ever Had August 16, 1961 - June 10, 1999