:: A tribute to our friend, Jw.
Friday, May 11, 2007
JW came to my attention in July of 1999 when he was appointed 
official helper to come work on regteam. As is often the case with someone
we don't know, I was curious about who he was, where he was from, how old he
was, what his nick meant.
I didn't find out for several years that he was a man my age from
the same area in the country as I was, and that his nick meant what it
sounded like; a victim of a terrible accident that broke his back, JW was
substantially paralized.
It took even longer for me to find out that he lived with
constant pain and regular difficult physical therapy. It's not uncommon for
a victim like JW to seek to expand his compromised life style in the magical
medium of IRC.
However it *is* uncommon to find a person like JW anywhere at
all. I don't think anyone ever heard JW complain about his personal physical
predicament. I personally never heard JW "complain" about anything. I never
heard a negative phrase about anyone or anything from his keyboard.
Certainly such discipline in the face of adversity such as his is very rare.
When some of think of JW they think "work horse". He had the time
certainly to apply to the drudging thankless tasks we must accomplish to
keep this service running. But JW won't be remembered for that. JW had the
time to chat. And he did, a lot.
Making friends, mentoring newbies, sharing feelings and
experiences were JW's tools to fill a void in his life and indeed addressing
voids in the lives of others. Unavoidably, he touched many with his courage,
his calm and his compassion.
When JW warned us that he had a necessary surgery coming up that
would take him off IRC for up to two months, it was a pretty casual
statement. And the day he had to go he finished up as much work as he could,
apologized for his upcoming absence, and said "back in a bit". Well he knew
more than he was letting on.
So now that we know he isn't coming back, the fact is
incomprehensible. He was a best friend to many, which is a hard thing to do.
No one disliked him for any reason, even harder. The quality of the work
that he did will not be surpassed.
We must remember JW and his special philosophy and demeanor as we
proceed with life on IRC and off. You can make the best of what you have. In
fact you can take what you have and make a real difference in peoples'
lives.
JW did this and it's going to take a long time to realize the
extent of his effect on all of us. If we could all do just a little bit of
what JW did, the world would be a better place.
It's human nature to experience a loss such as this as personal.
JW would prefer that it not be perceived as a loss. You can still chat with
JW in your mind because he's already made his mark and you know what he
would say.
So enough loss and on with a legacy. While JW is too humble to
acknowledge that he might become a legacy in our minds, we must acknowledge
JW and his effect on our lives.
And as we go back to work, that's exactly what we're going to do.
You can feel your pain, but for JW, celebrate the experience that he gave us
and that will endure in his absence.
saralee...
thanks Doc
Hi, I like to share a bit of background info about JwPara.
He was John Walker, from Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. He was
47, divorced, has two kids, John and Nikki, ages 19 and 24. He was very
proud of both of them, I might add.
At the age of 28, in Sept '85, he had fallen from a height of 30
feet, a 3-story building while doing construction work.
He landed on his feet, but the impact broke his back.. and as a
result, he was paralyzed from the waist down.
He was a paramedic by training and knew how much his life would
change on that eventful day.
As Doc had mentioned, he was in constant pain, but he never talked
about it much. He was that kind of guy.
Last October, he had surgery preformed on his spine/neck to
relieve some of the pressure that was causing him to loose strength in his
arms and fingers.
The operation would fuse 4 of his neck bones and he would, quite
literally, have a "stiff" neck.
While the surgery was a success, the doctors found that he wasn't
recovering the way they expected, and did more tests. More visits to the
hospital were needed.
Several weeks later they found something much more serious.. a
bone fungus that would spread rapidly.
On Dec 26, he was told that he only had 6 months to live.
He kept this a secret, even from his closest friends and family as
long as possible.
On Monday, he was looking forward to being back online very soon
and getting his computer up and running (it was in the shop for repairs on
his hard drive).
He especially missed working with all of us and I don't think he
knew himself what little time he had left.
John passed away peacefully on Jan 26th at 2:15 am at home, with
his mother, children, brother and love ones at his bedside (new york time)
John was my mentor on CService and my dear friend. He was a
remarkable teacher and taught me many things.
He always looked for the best in people. I don't remember a time
when he was angry.
He enjoyed helping when he could, but most of all, he had
unbelievable patience with little regard for his own discomfort.
He paid attention to details as only a good listener can. There is
a big hole in CService and in many of our hearts right now.
People like John are not so easy to clone.
For John, and others who dedicate their time to Undernet so
unselfishly, thank you. Your continued support, patience and understanding
will not be easily forgotten.
official helper to come work on regteam. As is often the case with someone
we don't know, I was curious about who he was, where he was from, how old he
was, what his nick meant.
I didn't find out for several years that he was a man my age from
the same area in the country as I was, and that his nick meant what it
sounded like; a victim of a terrible accident that broke his back, JW was
substantially paralized.
It took even longer for me to find out that he lived with
constant pain and regular difficult physical therapy. It's not uncommon for
a victim like JW to seek to expand his compromised life style in the magical
medium of IRC.
However it *is* uncommon to find a person like JW anywhere at
all. I don't think anyone ever heard JW complain about his personal physical
predicament. I personally never heard JW "complain" about anything. I never
heard a negative phrase about anyone or anything from his keyboard.
Certainly such discipline in the face of adversity such as his is very rare.
When some of think of JW they think "work horse". He had the time
certainly to apply to the drudging thankless tasks we must accomplish to
keep this service running. But JW won't be remembered for that. JW had the
time to chat. And he did, a lot.
Making friends, mentoring newbies, sharing feelings and
experiences were JW's tools to fill a void in his life and indeed addressing
voids in the lives of others. Unavoidably, he touched many with his courage,
his calm and his compassion.
When JW warned us that he had a necessary surgery coming up that
would take him off IRC for up to two months, it was a pretty casual
statement. And the day he had to go he finished up as much work as he could,
apologized for his upcoming absence, and said "back in a bit". Well he knew
more than he was letting on.
So now that we know he isn't coming back, the fact is
incomprehensible. He was a best friend to many, which is a hard thing to do.
No one disliked him for any reason, even harder. The quality of the work
that he did will not be surpassed.
We must remember JW and his special philosophy and demeanor as we
proceed with life on IRC and off. You can make the best of what you have. In
fact you can take what you have and make a real difference in peoples'
lives.
JW did this and it's going to take a long time to realize the
extent of his effect on all of us. If we could all do just a little bit of
what JW did, the world would be a better place.
It's human nature to experience a loss such as this as personal.
JW would prefer that it not be perceived as a loss. You can still chat with
JW in your mind because he's already made his mark and you know what he
would say.
So enough loss and on with a legacy. While JW is too humble to
acknowledge that he might become a legacy in our minds, we must acknowledge
JW and his effect on our lives.
And as we go back to work, that's exactly what we're going to do.
You can feel your pain, but for JW, celebrate the experience that he gave us
and that will endure in his absence.
saralee...
thanks Doc
Hi, I like to share a bit of background info about JwPara.
He was John Walker, from Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. He was
47, divorced, has two kids, John and Nikki, ages 19 and 24. He was very
proud of both of them, I might add.
At the age of 28, in Sept '85, he had fallen from a height of 30
feet, a 3-story building while doing construction work.
He landed on his feet, but the impact broke his back.. and as a
result, he was paralyzed from the waist down.
He was a paramedic by training and knew how much his life would
change on that eventful day.
As Doc had mentioned, he was in constant pain, but he never talked
about it much. He was that kind of guy.
Last October, he had surgery preformed on his spine/neck to
relieve some of the pressure that was causing him to loose strength in his
arms and fingers.
The operation would fuse 4 of his neck bones and he would, quite
literally, have a "stiff" neck.
While the surgery was a success, the doctors found that he wasn't
recovering the way they expected, and did more tests. More visits to the
hospital were needed.
Several weeks later they found something much more serious.. a
bone fungus that would spread rapidly.
On Dec 26, he was told that he only had 6 months to live.
He kept this a secret, even from his closest friends and family as
long as possible.
On Monday, he was looking forward to being back online very soon
and getting his computer up and running (it was in the shop for repairs on
his hard drive).
He especially missed working with all of us and I don't think he
knew himself what little time he had left.
John passed away peacefully on Jan 26th at 2:15 am at home, with
his mother, children, brother and love ones at his bedside (new york time)
John was my mentor on CService and my dear friend. He was a
remarkable teacher and taught me many things.
He always looked for the best in people. I don't remember a time
when he was angry.
He enjoyed helping when he could, but most of all, he had
unbelievable patience with little regard for his own discomfort.
He paid attention to details as only a good listener can. There is
a big hole in CService and in many of our hearts right now.
People like John are not so easy to clone.
unselfishly, thank you. Your continued support, patience and understanding
will not be easily forgotten.
Labels: under Undernet and mIRC
posted by Theawaykid coporation @ 1:18 PM
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