Wednesday, October 31, 2018

The Cable News Sandbox - Tuesday October 30, 2018

The Cable News Sandbox is a place for cable news enthusiasts. Here you can discuss cable news ratings, personalities, news, politics, and just about anything else you desire.

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.



There isn’t another person on the site who I would reveal, even in passing, their identity.  His love of this group was so deep, I believe he would have wanted everyone to know him a little better. He never had an enemy, even with the staunch progressives he masterfully debated.  I also believe we are referenced in the obituary, when they mentioned that he was ‘an accomplished armchair politician’.

If you would like, please add a comment to his tribute wall.


Stanley Dean Thomison

September 19, 1949 ~ October 20, 2018 (age 69)

https://www.snapp-bearden.com/notices/Stanley-Thomison