I just read this thread, and I was struck by how sad it made me. I didn't even know Centurion, really, but I feel for his loss. I wanted to ask a question, but out of respect for those grieving, I thought it might be better to open a new thread. Has Hatrack ever had a member die before? I've been here for a couple of months shy of two years now, but I don't remember hearing about anything like this before. Maybe it did and I was just too new to notice, or to understand the significance.
What really strikes me about that thread is how much of a community it shows this place to be. If a dying man's last wishes include a request that the people here be informed of his passing, it clearly had an effect on his life. Of course, I already knew that. I've traveled over half the country to meet other jatraqueros, and I've met people who have traveled that far to come to my region. I've certainly made friends here, been involved in other people's drama, laughed at and with people, been comforted when I was down. This place has had an impact on me. So it is no surprise that it has had an impact on others. But seeing it in this way makes it feel different, somehow. Maybe more real, maybe a little deeper, a little more important.
I often have trouble feeling for people that I don't know, for faces I haven't seen. So it's a little surprising to me how upset I am over the death of a person who I only knew by name, and only a screen name at that. And maybe that says something about how important this place has become in my life, that the simple fact that we were both here makes me feel sad that Frank is gone. I wish I had gotten to know him better.
[ October 22, 2004, 12:22 PM: Message edited by: saxon75 ]
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
No, this is the first time it's happened that I'm aware of.
Yeah Mike, I know how you're feeling. I'm feeling pretty sad about this myself, and while I knew who Centurian was around here, I doubt that he and I ever directly interacted. The fact that realizing that he had died struck me almost like a physical blow completely took me by surprise.