by Martin » Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:11 am
Roger, PM sent.
Thanks to all.
Marian, the site I have run for all these years has been left as is, a private memorial place for those of us that knew him. His final posts are on there along with some very lovely tributes to him.
I made that post to highlight the new dimension that friendships have moved into and the importance of leaving clear instructions should anything happen and we should nod off for the final time.
I think it's especially important for those of us older people who haven't grown up with the internet always being there to realise all this.
Internet friends can get under your skin, there are good and bad out there just as there is in "in the flesh" world. I have been very lucky to have come into contact with some wonderful people that I would never have met outside of the net. In fact, I met the best friend I've ever had on a political internet forum.
When I first got on line I realised very quickly that folk aren't always what they seem and so I made a wee promise to myself, that promise was and is to be as open and honest as possible on line, not to make a fake persona and if that means I get ridiculed or folk hate me, then so be it, at least I know that I have been honest and truthful, that counts for a lot with me.
But....getting back to an internet friend dying....my friend was one of those exceptional people who come along, stay for a while, make one hell of an impression and then leave too soon.
The real shit is I spoke to him the day before he died and there was no indication anything was wrong. It was November before I found out he'd gone in August. I'd like to think he rolled a joint, had a smoke and went very peacefully. His turd of a brother hasn't notified anyone (we're all just a name on a screen) and had he not been accorded a military funeral with full honours, those of us who were touched by him would probably never know he's gone.
He was a wee bit older than me but always the eternal child with a wonderful outlook on life. The strange thing was, he had been stationed over here at RAF Bentwaters at the same time that I would sometimes have a drink with some lads from there. I would have many a chat with guys in the guardroom (he was a part of that), so we had probably met back then but never knew it.
We'd both had a somewhat colourful childhood and held the same sort of political views etc. He was also an accomplished musician and I am proud to own two CD's of his works.
I am struggling with him going and it seems to have really knocked the stuffing out of me.
Anyway, that's all I have to say.
Ouch !