Missing members

[cstocks]

It was good to hear from you, Trev and Gary, and know that you are still among the living and are enjoying your health and to get a report from fishman that Bird is still kicking around out there even if he is suffering from carpal typing syndrome /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif, but I wonder what would happen if one of us were to become permanently incapacitated , or worse, pass away. How would the rest of us know? Who would tell us? Would we make a couple of posts asking about their whereabouts and always wonder but never know?

I think that since we are all one big happy, loose knit family that it would be nice if we left instructions with a loved one or friend who knows how much we enjoy the TBN discussions to make one last post to let the rest of us know that person won't be joining us anymore and why. It would give us all a chance to pay our respects to the family and the memory of that person. It might be good for that family to receive the kind, encouraging words of sympathy and condolences that most certainly would follow and which is characteristic of the caliber of folks who make up the membership of the TBN forums.

I told my wife tonight that if I kick the bucket or my health fails to the point that I can not speak (type) for myself that I would like her to make my last post for me. I told her to let everyone know how much I enjoyed being apart of this very unique family of tractor owners and prospective owners and that I appreciate all the comments, advice, critiques and humor that I have gotten from all of you.

Let's face it, if I croak I want you all to be able to say "It's too bad about Chris. He was an alright guy with a pretty decent sense of humor but he sure asked a lot of questions and didn't know s**t from shinola!" At least you'd know that I'd gone away, but had not gone away mad!/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

P.S. Bird, Gary and Trev - you'll get no condolences from me today but I'm sure glad you're still with us!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Youare]

I've often wondered what happened to people who used to be pretty active and then seem to drop off the face of the net.

As much as I hope nothing happens to any of you out there it would be good to know if one did pass on. I hope my wife would at least do that for me. I guess I could make her inheritance of my tractor dependant on that post. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Randy

 

[DarinRay]

Boy I've been thinking the same things for a while now but just didn't think to post my questions. I've been waiting and watching for a couple members to start writing again and almost emailed them but didn't want to bother them.

Is there a post somewhere earlier about missing members or a list of members that haven't been around for some time? If not couldn't we start one? Maybe this is it.../w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

I haven't seen del around for quite some time

Thats a down fall to these forums....You know them through here but you really don't know them. Then when you don't hear from them for some time your brains starts to work overtime and then sooner or later you just figure there's noway to really know. I remember when Thomas was the center of attention and I tell you what the caring people on this board that were inquiring his where abouts really moved alot of people and really did make me feel sooo great about people. Not that I was directly involved but was just watching waiting and hoping with everyone else.

I really don't know where I was going with this post but it's just weird how a puter can really make you feel by connecting soooooo many people together.

O.K GROUP HUG!!!! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Darin

 

[BigDave]

Chris,

I'm not an old-timer, but do we TBNer's need to update our last will & testaments stipulating one last post to TBN. What would be appropriate for that post? A poem of inspiration? A touching letter of thanks for the years of advice? Maybe just a phone number lead for good used tractor real cheap. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[njrqs]

I'm with Big Dave.

Maybe I need to leave a note or something giving my username...............................

 

[cstocks]

BigDave, at the very least leave your phone number and a good description of that dirt cheap tractor, which will be sold exclusively to a fellow TBN'er./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Steelfan]

<font color=blue>Let's face it, if I croak I want you all to be able to say "It's too bad about Chris. He was an alright guy with a pretty decent sense of humor but he sure asked a lot of questions and didn't know s**t from shinola!" At least you'd know that I'd gone away, but had not gone away mad!</font color=blue>

Why don't we all just say it now? So at least you can read what we said about you./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Of course you realize that you just make a statement that describes over half the guys on here. Me included. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif I did get a bit of a laugh out of this one. Now where did I put my will. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Kent

 

[Turfman]

When my father died the first thing to go was his truck, next his chain saw. Broke my heart that the things he really liked and appreciated went up for sale. Mom just sold all his stuff. I guess she tried to remove his presence from the house.

I know that the first thing my wife will get rid of (hopefully, after the cold body) will be the tractor. Hope the next guy enjoys it! Maybe the next guy to enjoy the tractor will be the guy she's already picked? She says he doesn't like orange, so maybe he'll trade it in on a New Holland and have a blue one.

 

[DUMBDOG]

Hopefully my son will stay in the area. He likes the land for the hunting and solitude. Maybe he will learn to appreciate the work required for maintenance and keep the tractor and tools and other equipment

Not for a long time yet, I hope.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Wow. Ya'll are getting downright morbid. I mean even considering the party will end, well, I've done that.

The boys, mine, hers, and theirs (the girls) will I'm sure be like hens on June bugs over the tools.

Buds will be like flies on road kill over all the junk around the place. I've loved junk my whole life and have found that junk loving folks just seemed to like me.

Everyone will have stories. That's what I want them to have. If figure the stories are what we can take with us when a loved one passes on. So for some gawdawful reason I've lived a life that has encouraged stories.

My son was nine. I was working night and day seventy miles from home in Southern California. I was what some folks consider a wheel. But in reality I was little more than a fender. You know what a fender is I'm sure. A fender is what keeps the stuff the real wheels stir up from messing up everything.

I woke up in Long Beach and read that the albacore were running out of San Diego. The skies parted and I realised a real truth. My son was nine and had never caught an albacore!

I don't know if you've ever caught a fish from the tuna family yourself. But a tuna is all muscle and they stay in shape. They hit like a bass with PMS and keep doing it long after a bass would have folded up the tent and went home in the station wagon.

At the time I worked my crew four tens. So I called San Diego and set up for a Friday ride on a tuna boat for two.

We went out with about eighty people on that big boat and there were five fish caught--at the other end of the boat. So as we were leaving I made a date for the following Friday.

We went out that time and there were fewer fisherman and man we hit the fish. I'll never forget the look on that fifty pound boy's eyes when that twenty five pound fish took him for the ride of a lifetime.

We got home to Riverside and we were showing off our booty to the neighbors. One old boy who was famously tight with the dollars looked at young son's fish and asked me what I had dollarwise in that puppy.

A quick mental math thingy and I came up with about five hundred dollars. Neighbor sucked in air like he'd heard we only had one chance to do so.

I had to smile. I then pointed out to the neighbor that it wasn't about dollars but memories. When young son is eighty and sitting around with the old guys talking about living his story about his first albacore will still be worth something more than anything else I could have bought him for five hundred dollars.

Some folks think a life like that is foolish. Chances are most likely they're right. Good for them.