Ulukai on 13/10/2020 at 18:18

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We didn't interact much but remember some of his posts. Sorry to hear this.

heywood on 13/10/2020 at 21:29

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Wow, this thread is like a wake. So many old familiar names I haven't seen around here in a while.

I don't remember early Turtle because I missed the formative years of CommChat, but he was still pretty active when I drifted over here and I remember him being a fun poster with a contemporaneously sarcastic wit. Nobody should die at 44 and hearing he had a daughter who won't see her father grow old makes me feel pretty bad even if I didn't really know him.

Rug Burn Junky on 14/10/2020 at 00:33

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Now that I've had time to process this a bit, Turtle deserves more than just a single word from me.

This really hits me hard, on multiple levels. Mainly, I feel like a piece of shit, because I realized that I hadn't really talked to him much in a few years and hadn't checked in with him personally, even though I knew he'd gone through some tough times. Like everyone I get complacent and substitute scrolling past on facebook for maintaining nostalgia, in lieu of reaching out. We had just connected on twitter a couple of weeks ago and I even goddamn had the thought right then that I needed to e-mail him. Fuck me.

The fact is, he was always the bellwether of this place for me. If I could make Turtle laugh, I knew I was on the right track. In fact, I don't think there's anyone whose approval meant more to me when it came to "funny" because he was so wickedly clever himself, just on another level from everyone else. Go back and read some of his posts here, he routinely made jokes that read like dad jokes, but there was always a layer and a thought process under it that made me say "Damn, I wish I had thought of that connection."

And if he agreed with something you said, I would always give it a chance, because he really was fundamentally a good and thoughtful person (unlike a lot of the rest of my favorite people around here, who are mostly degenerate reprobates like myself). He was genuine with a heart of gold, and absolutely humble.

He didn't talk about it much, but his family has been through some shit in the past couple of years. He had two daughters, both teenagers now, his wife has serious health issues that basically incapacitated her, and his sister had health issues as well. He just soldiered on, supported all of them and never did complain that I ever saw. He deserved a shit ton better than he got, and I'm sorry he didn't get to an easy stretch in the road to relax and enjoy life a bit. He was a really good man, and I can honestly say that I both respected and loved the guy. I'm going to miss him terribly.

Shadow Creepr on 14/10/2020 at 19:30

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I met Turtle at the 2003 TTLG meet in Chicago. He was such a kind and funny man. It has been a few years since I've had a chance to chat with him so I wasn't aware he'd been poorly. My thoughts are with his family. 😥

SD on 17/10/2020 at 01:10

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Well that's horrible. It seems like a long time since Turtle was active here, but I know I liked the guy. I wish I knew him better. 44 is no age at all. Rest easy, pal.