P3D Bye John BairDDD

[Tom Deering <tmd@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>I, like so many others who have recently commented about John, was
>saddened to hear about his passing. Thanks to Tom Deering (Was it you
>Tom?) for providing John's hospital phone and fax numbers last month.
>John and I had another great conversation that day. I was even able to
>send him an ASCII 3D fax which was delivered to him while we were
>talking. =) This man _LOVED_ 3D! I will miss his enthusiasm...

Yes, I called Truman Medical Center, and got the fax line right in 
the intensive care unit.  I made up a long banner with my computer, 
maybe three feet long, that said "I hope you're on the menDDD!"  I 
added a goofy picture of me wearing cardboard 3D glasses.  I taped it 
together and fed the whole strip into my fax machine.  I asked his 
nurse to put the banner on his wall.

When I later talked to John, I asked him about it, and he said, no he 
hadn't received it.  Then he said, "Omigod, it's right here on the 
wall!"  It seemed to materialize while we were talking, and it made 
him laugh.  He sounded strong.

Now in retrospect, something John said later chokes me up.  We talked 
about a ton of things.  First, the horror of what the radiation had 
done to him, and the extent of the surgery they performed trying to 
save him.   It's too horrible to think about now.  He mentioned that 
he would be moving back in with his ex-wife during his recovery, 
which seemed like an unusual step.  Then we talked about future 
projects, and how he might be able finish some now that he wasn't 
working. He was a creative man bursting with ideas, stuck in the 
hospital.  I finished my conversation with him by telling him how 
good and strong he sounded, that no one would believe he had 
undergone such an ordeal.  The last thing he said was "Now you can 
say he sounded good right up until the end."

My mother died in my arms earlier this year, and his grim comment 
stabbed me, but I shrugged it off and urged him well.  I had no idea 
how close the end was, for John.

When it gets light I'm going to go pull out the stereo slides he sent 
me of the famous Friday dinner in Richmond.  I had them out the other 
day, but now they will have different meaning.  He had copies made 
for me, and I'll bet some of you got them also.  John was a 
beautiful, generous man.

Tom Deering