It is an open forum for all discussions...thus referred to as 'The Sandbox'.
A Tribute to a Lost Friend
On October 20, 2018 we lost our beloved recon.
I began posting in the forum with the group that has become
family over 10 years ago. I believe
Recon was present at that time. There are
always ‘favorites’ who you liked to read.
He was one of them. It didn’t
matter how long the post was. All of it
was well worth the time to read it.
Thoughtful, passionate, and informative. He was our military expert, law enforcement
expert, friend, and our RINO.
He wore his RINO title as a badge of honor and defended it
with all his heart. As he engaged in
online skirmishes, he proved he could forgive and move on. He proved that two stubborn, highly
opinionated people could fight it out with their strong opposing viewpoints and
come back together as good friends. Oh,
you know who I am talking about. :-) Sometimes it took a while, but his soft heart
always won.
He would chime in and enrich any conversation with his
military or police background. He never
tried to be something else, or know something he didn’t. You could feel that his background was genuine. Online some people embellish and pretend to
know more than they actually do. You
could feel it with Recon. He knew what
he was talking about. He had lived it.
He definitely broadened my, and I suspect many others,
musical appreciation with his love of acoustic music. He had such a variety of past experiences. His knowledge of handcrafting a guitar was
also fascinating, giving us an in-depth look at the difficulties of acquiring the materials and of production. His knowledge really helped our understanding of the Gibson Guitar issue. It was just another
way his unique background added to our own knowledge.
He was so dedicated to keeping in touch with us. There were many times he told us that he was going
into the hospital, even telling us which hospital. I always kept an eye on it, and I could see
he was checking in on us. I always
worried, but it gave me comfort knowing he was still there. I remember one time he even posted from ICU,
stating that he was barely able to poke out a message and apologizing if he made
spelling errors.
I was extremely privileged to have met Recon
personally. He was as genuine in person
as he was to everyone else here online.
We met for lunch in the country club community he lived in. He had a very kind demeanor, and was excited
to talk about everyone on the site. I
gathered from our conversation that, even when the arguments got intense and he
seemed frustrated, he loved it. He was
in it for the fight! We continued to
communicate behind-the-scenes even after the initial messages planning for our
meeting.
I know I am probably not alone in this, but every time a
discussion arises about some technicality on the battlefield I will think of
Recon. He is at peace. Goodbye, my friend. We will miss you.
