A Moment of Prayer for Our Friend Rusty

I just read some of Rusty's posts over on THR ("russlate" there). God, I miss him.
 
Rusty *was* remebered today at 1400 PST with song and prayer. God bless you Rusty...

~Nasty
 
I've been in and out of all sorts of training over the past few months. I have been gone too long.

I have often wondered about Uncle Bill and Rusty.

I will continue to say prayers for them.
 
I have often wondered about Uncle Bill and Rusty. >>>>>>>> Samurai Dave

I have too. So have a lot of folks, if emails and statements made to me privately mean anything.

When the Mormons were under hardship in their new settlements in Utah, and their crops were being attacked by a swarm of Locusts, the Seagulls came. This was viewed as a miracle by the Faithful, so much so the Gull is Utah's State Bird today. A scientist says, "Well, fine and good, but the Seagull always comes inland for food, and those locusts certainly represented a lot of food. Nothing remarkable there at all."

It's a classic division between faith and 'science'.
The Catholic Church defines miraculous healing as a spontanieous return to health with no remission or scientific basis for having done so. I'm generalizing, and to make a point; two very different outlooks at how God operates.

In one, God acts within the physical parameters of the Universe He establised. In the other, it is 'supernatural'. What does all this have to do with Rusty and Bill?

Well, I can tell you on Rusty's side of the family the men died young, that he had numerous health problems, including respiratory weakness, and he had walking pneumonia, notorious for knocking people out for the count suddenly without much warning. He was stubborn, hated doctors and hospitals, and declined treatment. As he is past prosecution, and this is hearsay anyhoo, I will divulge that on at least one occasion Rusty 'packed' while visiting Bill in the hospital, such was his intense dislike and mistrust of the helping profession.

That's 100% pure Rusty, isn't it? Like what the heck would he do with it anyway? Nothing. But it made him feel better.
(Hey! I got in a lot of trouble- from my wife! For showing off the 'new' 38 Special target revolver I'd picked up from Pawn; in the hospital room 3 hours after my wife gave birth to our middle son. That was probably illegal as heck too, though at the time I didn't think about it much. You know I was under a household gun ban for nearly four years after that? Whew. )

People say, 'Well, Rusty followed his friend Bill to the Beyond." He did. I mean, it's a fact- regardless of why it happened. Doesn't matter I can point to the Science of why he left at that time. And if God sometimes works within the physcial universe He made, none the less coincidal.

I don't know what happened. I like to think the two of them had a few good times before Bill was winged away to his next incarnation. What Rusty was going to do as a kind of Cosmic Lutheran then I just don't know. Maybe he got to see Bill off, which is all he wanted.

Sometimes in the middle of the day, walking through a room, I get annoyed with Rusty. "Damn you, why did you have to go?" Not too annoyed, but some. "What were you thinking!!!???" I ask.

I could point to little things- how lately he seemed to have pulled back some, from us, from the forum. Maybe he knew something, deep inside. I don't know. I just don't know.

When you pull back, you return. That's the cycle. Remember how a lot of culture's don't say 'goodbye'; they have expressions that mean: "till I see you again?" Rusty would have been fine, he would have been great, he would have been our freind after Bill left.

All the conversation I had with him about loss, knowing Bill was leaving, preparing, and now I can just see him saying, "well munk, nevermind."

It's the darndest thing. "Rusty, why did you leave me alone?" I selfishly ask.

So a new chapter's begun. I don't know why. I look around and see the players, the issues, the conflicts and new connections being made. We make new again. Maybe it was time. This fertile ground Bill and Rusty left behind, the forum they believed in, the people they loved. Like a Steamship it keeps chugging along. Sometimes it seems impossible to me we can be as big as they. I know that isn't right, but there it is. I think 'bigness' is context and 'now'. I think we are here now and we are going to get big enough to do this thing. All of us; the forum. We are already, we always were, until we meet again, and can shake Rusty's hand.

This may surprise you, but I didn't want to be a moderator all that much. If Rusty had stayed, it wouldn't have happened. Yvsa shocked me when he told me he was thinking seriously about it and I told him I'd help. Josh once told me if I was ever a mod we'd lose munk and only gain a mod. If that's true one day I'll leave this, because it's more important for me to speak to you the way I always have.

I've a book to finish. Time to get on with my own half life. Losing Bill was hard. Losing Rusty one of the hardest for me personally. I'm glad you're all still here and I am too.

Aint that the darndest thing?

"Bill and Rusty at peace." -Yangdu.


munk
 
Please stay your course, munk. Thanks for all the consistently great writing-

keep on keepin' on-

and thanks again for wearing another hat.



Ad Astra

Rusty was remembered here on Sunday, due to storms. At least MY salutory gunfire came down in the bay, don't know about some peoples. ;)
 
Excellent post, munk. I can't help but feel that Bill and Rusty have plans of some sort, that they needed to move on together somehow.
 
Well I'm not over being pissed at Rusty!!!! The stubborn little Bastid waited one ConDamned day too long, but then again maybe not.
I've always said that when it's your time to go you're gonna go ,but By Damn I don't have to friggen like it!!!! :grumpy:
Rusty was good at his job as a mod even though he didn't like it. I sorta doubt that anyone that wants to be or likes being a mod would make a good one though. Helluvit is that someone has to do it and no matter whether I'm pissed at Little Bro or not I felt he would want me to step up so I did, but for damned sure not because I wanted too.:grumpy: :(

I feel worse for Little Bro's family than I do myself though. I do know just how much Rusty loved his family and how much they loved him.
It just tickles me that Little Bro thought of me and inculded me as a member in good standing in his family.
I'll never forget Rusty and I'll never stop loving him. If only all brothers were like Rusty the world would be a better place.:D
 
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