In Memoriam - Buzsaw

Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone knows if Mike has been told. He and Buz were kind of comrades on here and I'm sure he would want to know.Forgive me if I seem a bit out of the loop - I only recently started visiting the forum again and I don't know the circumstances of Mike's leaving; I just noticed that he doesn't seem to be around any more. At any rate, I don't mean to derail things but I thought I should mention this in case anyone still has contact with him.As for Buzsaw...Ouch! That... hit me kind of hard.It's amazing how attached you can become to someone you've never even met - how a poster who is no more to you than words on a screen can eventually feel like a personal friend. Though, the nature of the forum can make this familiarity oddly one-sided. Given my sporadic posting history, I wouldn't imagine that Buz ever had any feelings about me one way or the other. Even back when I did post a little, I doubt that I merited much of a blip on his radar. As such, he never knew me. He may have been vaguely aware of my presence on the forum, but just barely I would think.Buz, on the other hand, was one of the long-term contributors, with an active posting history lasting many years. And I go way back as a reader of the forum - long before I actually joined. So, given the combination of those two things, I feel like I came to know him pretty well.And it looks like I'm not alone. I can't help but notice the other rare posters responding to this thread. People like myself who don't post very often, but were moved to break their silence on this occasion. I think the fact that this news temporarily compelled the "mostly lurkers" amongst us out of our introversion speaks volumes about the impact Buz had.Anyway, there isn't much I can say for myself which wouldn't just be repeating everybody else's words. Despite the fact that I disagreed with Buz on almost everything, I always thought he was a genuinely nice guy. I'm pretty sure I only directly bumped into him once on the forum but it was a brief and pleasant experience. We shared a quick joke, complete with smiley faces, and went on our way. It's possible that our paths did cross elsewhere but, for whatever reason, that's the encounter I remember.Despite our lack of association, I grew to know Buz through his posts. He could be frustrating... he could be endearing... he could be anything in between. But no matter which he was, he was always sincere. Whatever our differences, I've always felt that his heart was in the right place and the motivation behind his words was noble.My condolences to his family and friends. Know that this place will never be quite the same without him.Rest well, old friend. You've earned your peace.Farewell, Buz.

Thanks for the answer, Asgara. It looks like he got the message. That's ok. I suppose there is any number of older members I could have thought of but when I read the news, Mike was the first one that popped into my head.I realize that my own absence from the forum may render my perspective a bit out-of-date, but of all the long-term posters who aren't around any more, Mike just struck me as having the most significant relationship with Buz. No offense intended to anyone else. I may be reading too much into it but, as two long-time members on the same side (mostly), I couldn't help but get a bit of a "Brothers in Arms" vibe from them.Not that this is really relevant, I guess. I'm just glad that Mike got the message. Thanks for letting him know, Asgara, and for your answer to me.

Hi, Mike. Nice to hear from you again, too. And thank you for the compliment on my post. I'm glad you liked it. I understand. I've never involved myself in the debating side of things. I've participated in discussions, but only to improve my understanding of subjects I'm interested in. In any case, it's generally not necessary because, in any given debate, someone usually says what I would have said before I'd even be able to type it out. There are plenty of people here, with far thicker skin than I, who can handle that side of it so I'm happy to let them. I get too emotional about things. At any rate, I'm sorry to hear about your own difficulties regarding debating. I do hope that it doesn't drive you away altogether. Even if you don't want to debate any more, I hope you might still drop by once in a while, even if it's only to say hi or have a friendly chat with your old pals. Or hey... you could even take a page out of my book. I think there's something to be said for taking the "lurker" route. There's plenty of interesting discussion either way. You'd be surprised how much you can learn from it, even without being an active participant. Anyway, I'm diverging too much here. To get back on track, I'm glad you got the message. I guess I shouldn't play favourites but I knew that you and Buz were friends. There are probably tons of people I could have mentioned. And, in fact, now that I think about it, another name does occur to me: Brad McFall. Mr Incomprehensible himself. Although, to be honest, I don't know if he and Buz were ever that close, and I may just be remembering Brad because he's one of the other people I used to talk to a bit. Well, I guess there isn't much that can be done. I'm sure I could think of plenty of old posters if I gave it some thought, but I suspected that you, in particular, would want to know.Either way, I'm glad the word got through to you. Though I knew Buz through his posts, he didn't know me. And, as I said before, the news hit me harder than I would have expected. You, on the other hand, were actually close to him, so I have no doubt that this was harder for you than it was for me. For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry about the loss of your friend.