Thank you, Thunderbolt.
Good to see you again. Hope you can stay for a while.
I’m deeply sorry to hear it. There are people here who tend to make us really think, or who open up our view of the world. That’s especially remarkable when it’s paired with a spirit of kindness and generosity.
My sympathies to you Push, and those of you who knew him well.
RIP
Sad to hear. I hope he didn’t suffer in the last days.
[quote]Chushin wrote:
[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:
I don’t have any words that could improve upon what has already been said. Doc was simply one of the best of us. Brilliant, witty, charming, gentlemanly, and gracious. He saw subjects in a way that none of us ever did, and wrote so well. His poetry - often wry and simply in response to another ordinary post - made us all look like children in awe of an adult’s wisdom and humor.
I talked with Doc alot, but never got to know him outside of correspondence. All I can say is that I am a better man for knowing him, even in the limited way that I did. For those of you that knew him personally, what a gift. What a gift.
I am deeply saddened. The day has grown darker. But, it won’t stay that way for long, because if Doc has any legacy in my mind, it is that he brought incredible light into this world.
For those who knew him personally, my deepest condolences. Push, especially, thoughts to you for the loss of your best friend. He was special, and even internet anonymity couldn’t mask his greatness.[/quote]
I once thanked Doc for coming to my “rescue,” telling him that I was “outgunned” in a particular debate with a particular poster.
He responded, “Nonsense. Neither you nor I have any reason to feel inferior to any of these people. Except for Thunderbolt, of course.” [/quote]
I agree. Very sorry to hear about doc’s passing. He was truly a great mind and thunderbolt is up there in the same league. Good to see him back.
Look forward to seeing your posts tb. You and doc were the best minds around here.
You know, it almost seems inadequate to celebrate Dr. Skeptix with just a mere thread, though I am at a loss of how to better do it.
I suppose those of you who knew him, perhaps could share some anecdotes of his life in order that we may celebrate his life better? I know it’s personal and I am not asking for anything private. But I guess I would like to know him a little better as a person, rather than a poster. I think, perhaps that would be a good way to honor him?
I don’t know the answer I guess, but I think about him often even though I didn’t know him, after hearing the news. I sense the loss in someway. I guess I just don’t want this to just fall away like another thread. He’s a fallen comrade, a good man and deserving of honor. And perhaps his loved ones would take some minor comfort in the respect he was able to garner, even in an anonymous forum.
So I suppose, if you have some good stories about him, that would not violate anybody’s privacy, or serve to pick at wounds, I would like to hear them. Maybe others would too.
Just a thought.
Doc loved to grow epiphyllum and probably had thousands in his back yard. The last time I saw him, Doc said his wish was to live to see them bloom one more time (they only bloom once a year in the spring). It breaks my heart that he didn’t get his wish.
He gave me several plants a few years ago, and I’ve always loved them, but this spring I’ll be so happy to have them bloom again because I know it will make him happy.
RIP, dear friend.
[quote]pushharder wrote:
Doc had a simple, modest, well kept home in a modest neighborhood.
I was in his garage once and was perplexed about something. I asked him, “Doc, where’s all your ‘stuff’?”
“I don’t have any ‘stuff’ to speak of.”
“Really? You don’t have a storage unit somewhere full of ‘stuff’?”
“No, I live simply.”
[/quote]
He told me that story, before I met you.
That was one of the things I loved about him. We understood each other, because I don’t have any “stuff” to speak of either.
Doc loved opera. Was a true aficionado. Whereas most of us, when choosing gym music, would probably prefer something loud and angry with cacophonous percussion, pounding bass and howling guitars, Doc’s workout music was Verdi’s Un Ballo In Maschera, an opera that he was kind enough to invite me to see with him on opening night.
I had never been to an opera before, unless you count a production of Jesus Christ Superstar, but this was absolutely fantastic: a sublime production. What was even better was Doc telling me all of the history of this particular opera, interesting tidbits about the life of Verdi, the scandals and rumors of the various members of the troupe who were performing, and the shady political maneuvering of the organization that was presenting these productions.
I have never known someone with knowledge as simultaneously broad and deep as Doc had. He would be the first to tell you that he didn’t really know everything about everything, but he sure knew a lot about a lot.
And he knew more great jokes than anyone I know.
The first time I went to visit Doc, he took me to the San Diego zoo to see the new bonobo exhibit, because he had been following one of the threads here on T-Nation where I gushed a bit about the “humanity” of bonobos.
He positively loved the zoo, had a yearly pass so that’s he could go whenever he wanted. Turns out he was just as much of a bonobo fan as I, and we spent an hour just watching them and the orang-utans, all the while discussing history, politics and religion.
I am truly sorry for anyone who has never experienced the sublime beauty of the San Diego Zoo, and who has never experienced the sublime wisdom and knowledge of Dr Skeptix. To be able to have done both at the same time is as close as I can ever expect to come to Adam walking with God in the Garden of Eden.
[quote]Chushin wrote:
When I consulted Doc about a medical issue, he asked me to send a list of all the meds and supplements I was taking.
There weren’t many meds, but lots of supps.
He wrote back, “I’m pretty sure your urine has street value.”[/quote]
You know, Chushin, what really struck me the first time I met you was how much you reminded me of him. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a picture of Doc (or if he had ever seen a picture of you) but the resemblance is uncanny. You could be related.
EDIT: of course he had seen a picture of you. You and he were friends on Facebook. But he was scrupulously averse to having his picture taken, and his profile didn’t contain any photographs of himself. He never used an avatar here on T-Nation, either.
Which stands to reason, I guess. He was a Torah scholar, after all, and Mosaic law does forbid graven images.
Was it the old picture where he still had a mustache? I always thought that pic made him look like a better-groomed Einstein…though Doc would have said Groucho Marx.