A FAREWELL TO A DEAR FRIEND:

This is the saddest post I’ve ever had to write. I rarely put up personal things; I prefer to keep my Facebook work about astrology. But today I must share this.

As many of you know, one of my dearest friends lived in the building in Surfside Florida that collapsed. We all held onto the slim hope that she would be found alive in the rubble. Today we received news that they had found her remains and as impossibly hard as it is to accept the inevitable, we must do just that. My heart goes out to all who lost a loved one in this insane and senseless catastrophe. I lost someone not only dear to me, but to anyone who knew her. And I wish to speak briefly about this wonderful person.

Cassandra Billedeau Stratton was an exciting, adventurous woman who loved life as much as anyone I’ve ever known. She was a vivacious fun-loving person with the ability to lift up those she loved and to rejuvenate our faith and desire. Lord knows she didn’t have the easiest life. When she was young, her house in New Orleans burned to the ground with all her worldly possessions. Somehow she pulled herself together and managed to get another house, which was soon destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Yet, again she wouldn’t let misfortune keep her down. That was when she moved to New York where I met her, and we began a lifelong, deep friendship. Her trials were many and would have crushed the spirit of a lesser person, yet she faced them all with strength and conviction and a smile most could never project, even in the face of her adversities. She was always hopeful and confident and it is with the heaviest of hearts and with sadness that that I must say goodbye to a soul so full of joy and optimism.

To her husband, Michael, her daughter, Ariana, and her mother, Kerry, as well as to her sisters and so many, many friends, I pray you can find peace in the knowledge that she loved you all without reservation or limit. We will never be able to replace this beautiful spirit. My life is lessened by her loss, but it is so much richer for having had her in my world all these years. She was truly a muse to me. She was the inspiration and model for astrologer/detective David Lowell’s gal Friday, Sarah in my mystery book series, and as close a direct characterization as poetic license will allow. It was something she was always proud of and we often joked about, as she showed off her endless shoe collection. And like that character, with her bright red hair, her fiery temper and her devilish sense of humor Cassie was a tough, but gentle soul always trying to figure out what life was all about.

Cassie was my student. We would spend countless hours looking at chart and using the tarot deck as she tried to understand her life and her relationships. Her curiosity was endless as we studied her charts and those of her family and friends. But she wasn’t only my student, she was also my teacher. She taught me about faith and compassion, about struggle and hope. And about love, endless and without restriction. This is one of my favorite pictures of Cassie at Christmas time doing what she loved best – shopping to find the perfect gift for everyone in her life.

The Full Moon sat exactly on her ascendant and squared five cardinal planets in her chart when the accident occurred. But I’m not writing as an astrologer, but as a witness to an amazing person who changed my life. I can’t believe she is gone and that I will never again see her bright red hair and infectious smile or know the joy that I felt when she would call and say she was coming into town and we would meet for evenings of charts and cards and wine. Every year for the past decade she just happened to be in New York when my birthday came in July and we would have dinner together or sometimes drive out to the beach for the day. Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe she planned it each year, she never told me. But I think I know. Rest in peace my love and please smile down upon us as you always have. We will all miss you forever.