RIP GuestZero

A noted contributor to local message boards passed away recently.  GuestZero, whose real identity will not be revealed by me, died of a heart attack last month (Feb. 2016).  A memorial service was held today at Side Cut Metropark in The Lamb Center.

GuestZero was an active, if somewhat acerbic, contributor on Toledo Talk and Swamp Bubbles. Both sites released news of his passing here and here. I met GuestZero several times and found him to be an affable, learned man.  I shall miss him.

The memorial service was well attended by friends and neighbors; only a few message board contributors showed up, which didn't surprise me too much.  Virtually all people who contribute to message boards do so anonymously, and for good reason.  Hence, many are not thrilled about an initial meeting with other users whom they may have had a disagreement with, or who might reveal their true identity online - and some of these users have something to protect.

Food and refreshments were provided by SherryET, who did an excellent job, and to whom I (and several others who attended) raise an afternoon bourbon glass and give a tip of the old fedora by way of thanks and recognition.

In keeping with the tradition of any memorial service, a Baptist minister from some local church (whose name I've forgotten, both the man and the church) gave an extremely brief eulogy of sorts, then launched into an evangelical sermon culminating in an altar call.  No one approached the altar, and the minister left very soon after that.  To the best of my knowledge, GuestZero was an agnostic, but I can't be certain.

When attendees were asked to stand up and say a few words about GuestZero, I declined.  What I had to say about him wouldn't make sense to the crowd, none of whom understood what a message board was or how I ever came to know GuestZero, and I wasn't about to try and explain it.

I stayed for a little over an hour, then Mariner mentioned he was feeling a bit dry, so we bid a quiet farewell to the entire business and went over to Dale's Bar and Grill, there to knock back a cold one.  I think GZ would have approved.

Casualties of Time and Effort

It takes time and effort to write, even if you write poorly.  Most bloggers write for their own amusement, self-publishing their Pulitzer quality works at little or no cost and wondering if anyone is reading their literary contributions to the overall quality of civilization as we think it should be.  Eventually the author quits, possibly because he's tired of writing or has gone on the wagon and sobered up, thus wondering just what the hell it was he'd actually be doing all this time.

Shameless Plug for Dr. Grumpy

I started reading Doctor Grumpy in the House.  The man purports to be a real medical doctor, which he may well be, but either way the stories he tells are hilarious.  Here's an example:

It is never good when the chart begins: "Patient suffered a head injury with intracranial bleeding when a fight broke out at his Bible study group."

Sounds like an elder's meeting at a Southern Baptist church.  If you want a few good laughs, here the link: Doctor Grumpy in the House

Hope you enjoy him as much as I do.

My Blog: Things I Don't Understand

I've been getting short, commercialized comments from someone calling himself covnitkepr1, which I suppose translates into something like Covenant Keeper One.  The man purports to being a born again Christian and writes one essay a month.  His blog is AccordingToTheBook and his one line comments always end with:

I have added myself to follow your blog. You are more than welcome to visit my blog and become a follower as well.

I checked out his blog and found a critical error on page 1.  Ain't is always the way?