It's really disturbing to see someone so young and so skilled and generous, go like this. My condolences to his family, whose grief I'm sure is mollified by the knowledge of how much he loved them, prepared them for this, and the example he gave.

I recall a friend, a hunting and fishing buddy when we were teenagers, who died suddenly while we we were both in college. Every time I go fishing or hunting, at some point my mind turns to him and wishing he could be there sharing the experience. I suppose in memory he is but the conversation is a bit one-sided.

I hardly knew Tony, other than from his posts here, but I suspect he would have been a lot of fun to hunt with. He'll be going along into the grouse woods come fall.

fiery, dependable, occasionally transcendent