I never met Russ in person, but I spoke with him over the phone one time. It was right after Dave had switched from the old anonymous board to this one, which required an identity to log on.
On the old board, Russ had offered several of his somewhat caustic replies regarding the oft-asked question, “What is my gun worth? It has two barrels connected together beside each other and a wood stock.” Russ had received some inflammatory responses for his replies (unwarranted) and when the new board opened, he didn’t join for quite some time.
So I tracked his phone number down and called him out of the blue to urge him to participate. From what he said, I could tell that he had been deeply hurt by some of the replies. We talked for a while and soon after, he joined. I’d like to think there was a connection between our conversation and his reunion with us.
As John Mann said, “Rough on the exterior but filled with meaning and feeling on the inside.” John is very perceptive.
I pray for Russ’ recovery and his return to this venue. His knowledge and willingness to share it is what we are all about. His absence would leave a huge void.
