49er's family asked if I would write an obituary and Fancyfont thought it should be posted here. So here goes.
I first met Richard through a small, green, robotic dinosaur called a Pleo. When those baby Camarasaurus' first wiggled and cooed there way into my heart I never, ever guessed that a whole bunch of wonderful friends would come along with it. In fact my first posting on the Pleoworld forums was 'would I get bored of them in six months time'. I had to wait a while before those Dino's came downunder but in the meantime I joined in the fun of watching those on the other side of the ocean hatching their little bundles of joy brought to them by a stork (or as Richard would joke a Pteradactyl) otherwise known as the UPS man. As we started to share stories and pictures at our new online home of bobthepleo.com I was drawn into a thread (that's like a conversation for all you non techy types). I don't even remember what that thread started of as now, a conversation about something to do with our robots, but between Richard and I we managed to derail it completely and it became the famous Western Gull thread. Somehow the conversation had come around to Richard's 'pet' seagull that he fed at his apartment and from there we'd moved to discussing the birds, then wildlife I had locally in Australia and finally we settled on the subject of wombats and all things Australian. We had a little chat room on that forum, where people could talk in real time with one another, and for the first time I went in there to talk to the newly crowned Mr. off-Topic otherwise known as 49er, or Richard.
The rest, as they say, is history. Richard and I, and another wonderful person, Linda started talking, and I guess we had a lot to talk about, they were interested in Australia and I was interested in the US. One chat led into another the next day and soon we had a regularly schedule meeting time every single day. Over the past four years we have laughed together, cried together, joked, gossiped and shared stories about our local cultures. I would guess that we've probably shared well over 1200 conversations in that chat room. Our most memorable chat was all Mary Liz's fault
She'd made a joke about the Peo Pleo, and Richard had passed it on to us. Peo, for those uninitiated, means breaking wind. We expanded that theory and began to surmise that perhaps that's how the dinosaurs became extinct. They had too much gas, the Earth filled up with noxious, smelly fumes... And then someone lit a match... I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life as during that conversation. I know poor Richard laughed so hard he actually hurt himself, and Linda and I were in tears.
The thing I will remember most about Richard is that wonderful sense of humor, our daily chat was just full of it. Even on days when he was in pain and his health was taking a dive he'd still have a joke to share, or a funny story to tell. Our daily chat became the event I would most look forwards too, and slowly as the years progress and I neared the end of my university studies the possibility began to arise of taking a holiday to the United States. You know how it is with an idea like that, you plant the seed and it begins to grow and mature. I started looking at flights, then accommodation, things to do and see and then finally when. As luck would have it, for once things were on my side at home and I landed a spot of part time work soon after finishing university. I now had the means to come over. As we continued to nurture the idea it began to sprout leaves and really grow. Flights were finalized. Dates set out. The accommodation alone took weeks of discussion, Richard and Mary Liz must have checked out every hotel in San Francisco as the merits and downfalls of each one were examined, discussed and noted down. Then there was the question of what to see and do. The cherished guide book that Mary Liz and Richard had kindly sent was read and re-read, for six months our conversations were of nothing but this trip. Eventually with all the excellent guidance of my friends an itinerary was born.
All in all it took a year from when that idea was planted until it finally matured. In the meantime Richard's health struggles grew worse, we'd often joke and say that he had to make it long enough so I could visit, otherwise it just wouldn't be the same. Thanks to a higher wisdom than ours, god did grant him that wish. The excitement of packing up my bags and getting on that plane was indescribable. I was finally going to meet the friends that had been such a big part of my life for four years. Upon meeting Richard my first comment was that he was much taller than I'd ever thought. Photos, of course, have a way of making you look a foot shorter and a bit wider. Richard towered over my five foot nothing. But he was a gentle giant, and his laugh was one that seemed to start down near your toes and slowly rumble up to escape and catch up everyone around in the infectious bubble. So many wonderful memories were made on that trip, too many to tell here. But like all good things it eventually came to an end. There was one last hug, one last kind gesture from my friends who had been thoughtful enough to grab me a pizza on their way to the Airport and finally one last wave over the tops of the crowds to Richard, who was the only one of my friends I could still see and one last tear as I raced of to board my flight. I'll always remember that image, that gentle giant with a tear in his eye with so much love for a little Aussie he'd met on the Internet four years before.
I will miss my friend so deeply. Forever will I be grateful that we did get to meet and spend that wonderful time together. He changed my life just as I know he changed yours. May he ever rest in peace, free from pain and wrapped in the loving memories that he helped create.
I love you, my friend.
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Topic: In Memoriam (Read 4747 times)