The Ravings of Demented Rabbits

In Passing

So I'm post a lot today. It's been a sort of busy day like that.

So I got home today to find an AIM from Regina saying "Check the Phoenix forums." I could pretty much guess what I was going to find, but checked anyway, and, yes, sure enough, Ken Wood, aka tonto_real, had passed away. Not unexpected at all, really, considering that he was very, very sick, and not altogether sad, even. I've seen the whole prolonged illness thing before, and it's just not good, yknow?

Some of you knew _real, being Tontos as you were, but I imagine most of you don't, because I really didn't and don't talk about Tonto that much. How to describe him? He was many things in his life from Vietnam vet to co-founder of an internet gaming clan. Most of all, he was one of the warmest people I've known. Tonto, for most of its existance, was a big, sprawling, friendly, open sort of place, and I think that's the kind of guy _real was, too. We were many of us, or at least I was, sort of like his surrogate children, or grandchildren, or what have you. Always a word of advice (indeed, a whole forum full of it), always ready to pass on a new book title or AoK strat or talk on any sort of subject, in his often quirky, usually witty, and always intelligent manner.

I'm sad I never got to meet him. Regina and I had planned to go down there, but sometimes life has other plans. *shrug* Doesn't matter. He was still my friend, and a good and utterly respected one.

Rest in peace, Ken, and don't forget the alien.

Posted by Dwip at February 27, 2006 7:14 PM