12-04-2011, 05:10 AM
Dear Lurkers,
I have been working on this post for way too long. I keep trying to make it better, but nothing seems to improve it. So you are stuck with a bunch of disjointed paragraphs that each have something that I wanted to share with you.
Thank you Lurkers for being who you are. I have been reading and re-reading your posts here, finding comfort in what you have shared. Thank you Bolty, for putting this place together and keeping it going.
Since it began, this community was one of Pete’s favorites favorite places. Some of you have been his on-friends and discussion sparing partners for even longer. Over the years you all kept him challenged, gave him interesting subjects to research, questions to answer, stories to laugh about and more, all things that enriched his life. The wide varitey of topics and lively discussions all fed his need to keep learning new things and his joy in sharing what he knew.
Pete once told me that several of his closest on-line friendships started with firey exchanges that evolved into heated discussions, greater understanding and mutual respect. Many of his flaming posts though were Pete protecting this community, trying to keep this the the kind of place that it is and saving it from the trolls and other posting offenders.
I don’t know if Pete ever shared much of what he went through, but in early 2005 he was diagnosed with AML, an aggressive leukemia. The rounds of chemo and the stem cell transplant were brutal, leaving him vulnerable to infections and requiring medications that caused more damage and other nasty side effects. He was stuck home alone, a lot, and there were really only a few days where he felt good. I was so glad that he had this community. As the world around him slowly sunk down to a few rooms at home, you all made it bigger and made his days better. I doubt that you will ever be able to appreicate how much you gave him.
I don’t think this is the place to put a lot of details about about all that Pete went though, so if anyone has specific questions, you can send me a private message. For here though I will say that it was difficult. Although we had hoped for more, better and longer we were very very fortunate to have gained the 6 and ½ years that I called bonus time. I often reminded him that in 2005 it was much like watching the last ball of a pinball game pass between the bottom flippers – you think it is all over and then the machine makes its start up noises and out comes an extra ball, bonus play. We tried to make the most of the extra time.
Pete did play WoW for a little while, but he was not able to play for very long. He was happy when he discovered that he could “play” the auction house. This kept him in the game until about the time that the moble auction house came on line and it seemed to him like he could not find the good deals that he enjoyed finding anymore.
I just will share one game story - In Diablo days, Pete would start open games playing with his “beyond naked mage” character, wearing all the thorny nasty items he could find. Frequently he would be joined by “idiots” that would go down to the dungeon with him, kill him then get mad because all the drops were junk. That made him laugh - every time. Once though, he was joined by a player who asked Pete why he did not have good gear and generously offered to give Pete some of the hacked goodies that he was carting around. Pete explained about the mage being so over powered that that they could play naked and still have fun and offered to show him how to play that way. The player was trusting, took off all his gear and left it in town and they went down into the dungeons together. They played for several hours – with Pete sharing tips and hints that a player in “god” mode would never have needed to learn. They finished up, said “thanks for the game” and were getting ready to leave when Pete noticed all the shiny impossible gear lying on the ground. Pete typed something like “don’t forget all your stuff” and the player replied – “I don’t need any of that s**t.” That moment gave Pete a lot of satisfaction.
We were fortunate in that we were able to meet several gaming friends in Las Vegas. Those trips were amazing and we both had a great time meeting those who could join us. Way back when, we had plans to try to set up one trip a year to meet those that could come – it was so much fun. I do wish we could have, there are so many of you that we both would have loved to meet and to see again.
I do not know how to end this, but I sure can’t before I thank you all for being the people that you are. In game and out, I am very grateful for all my friends here. Thank you again. Your good wishes help.
-Magi-/Sue
I have been working on this post for way too long. I keep trying to make it better, but nothing seems to improve it. So you are stuck with a bunch of disjointed paragraphs that each have something that I wanted to share with you.
Thank you Lurkers for being who you are. I have been reading and re-reading your posts here, finding comfort in what you have shared. Thank you Bolty, for putting this place together and keeping it going.
Since it began, this community was one of Pete’s favorites favorite places. Some of you have been his on-friends and discussion sparing partners for even longer. Over the years you all kept him challenged, gave him interesting subjects to research, questions to answer, stories to laugh about and more, all things that enriched his life. The wide varitey of topics and lively discussions all fed his need to keep learning new things and his joy in sharing what he knew.
Pete once told me that several of his closest on-line friendships started with firey exchanges that evolved into heated discussions, greater understanding and mutual respect. Many of his flaming posts though were Pete protecting this community, trying to keep this the the kind of place that it is and saving it from the trolls and other posting offenders.
I don’t know if Pete ever shared much of what he went through, but in early 2005 he was diagnosed with AML, an aggressive leukemia. The rounds of chemo and the stem cell transplant were brutal, leaving him vulnerable to infections and requiring medications that caused more damage and other nasty side effects. He was stuck home alone, a lot, and there were really only a few days where he felt good. I was so glad that he had this community. As the world around him slowly sunk down to a few rooms at home, you all made it bigger and made his days better. I doubt that you will ever be able to appreicate how much you gave him.
I don’t think this is the place to put a lot of details about about all that Pete went though, so if anyone has specific questions, you can send me a private message. For here though I will say that it was difficult. Although we had hoped for more, better and longer we were very very fortunate to have gained the 6 and ½ years that I called bonus time. I often reminded him that in 2005 it was much like watching the last ball of a pinball game pass between the bottom flippers – you think it is all over and then the machine makes its start up noises and out comes an extra ball, bonus play. We tried to make the most of the extra time.
Pete did play WoW for a little while, but he was not able to play for very long. He was happy when he discovered that he could “play” the auction house. This kept him in the game until about the time that the moble auction house came on line and it seemed to him like he could not find the good deals that he enjoyed finding anymore.
I just will share one game story - In Diablo days, Pete would start open games playing with his “beyond naked mage” character, wearing all the thorny nasty items he could find. Frequently he would be joined by “idiots” that would go down to the dungeon with him, kill him then get mad because all the drops were junk. That made him laugh - every time. Once though, he was joined by a player who asked Pete why he did not have good gear and generously offered to give Pete some of the hacked goodies that he was carting around. Pete explained about the mage being so over powered that that they could play naked and still have fun and offered to show him how to play that way. The player was trusting, took off all his gear and left it in town and they went down into the dungeons together. They played for several hours – with Pete sharing tips and hints that a player in “god” mode would never have needed to learn. They finished up, said “thanks for the game” and were getting ready to leave when Pete noticed all the shiny impossible gear lying on the ground. Pete typed something like “don’t forget all your stuff” and the player replied – “I don’t need any of that s**t.” That moment gave Pete a lot of satisfaction.
We were fortunate in that we were able to meet several gaming friends in Las Vegas. Those trips were amazing and we both had a great time meeting those who could join us. Way back when, we had plans to try to set up one trip a year to meet those that could come – it was so much fun. I do wish we could have, there are so many of you that we both would have loved to meet and to see again.
I do not know how to end this, but I sure can’t before I thank you all for being the people that you are. In game and out, I am very grateful for all my friends here. Thank you again. Your good wishes help.
-Magi-/Sue