Sad news: merle_ has passed away.

[merle_]

[not merle_ posting]

merle_ passed away. He was found by the police on Monday May 13, 2013 after his wife called to say he was missing. He died at home, in his new apartment, apparently while sleeping peacefully

Comments

[jeffpalmatier]

I'm just totally stunned. I don't know how to even begin to process his death. I've enjoyed talking to him via Livejournal for all these years now. He was such an interesting person. I don't how many times he gave me great advice or just made me laugh. I can't believe he's not going to be around for us to talk to him.

Eryn, I am so sorry.

[eryn_]

Thank you. Still hurts. I was going through his things and kept turning around to tell him who would appreciate getting something. And there wasn't anyone to call because no one would have appreciated how funny he would have found my designees.

What I miss most though is the shorthand conversations. Where the entire background to a situation doesn't have to be spelled out in order to refer to it casually as being vaguely similar to the current thing that's happening. Talking to other people is s l o w. By the time they've caught on, we've all aged a month and are starting to hate each other.

Even blind drunk and staggering on a cane, he was smarter than most of the people I encounter even when I'm somewhere that has a "Your brain must be THIS BIG to ride this ride!" sign.

[cellio]

What? No!

Oh, I am so sorry for everyone who is affected by this, especially Eryn. merle_ and I only ever interacted here on LJ, but I felt like we made a connection. I will miss him.

[siderea]

Damn it.

I am... beyond words.

Thank you for informing us.

[eryn_]

You're welcome. I did see that you found words later, and I read them. Thank you.

[sly_girl]

I'm sorry to hear this. I didn't know him IRL - he just friended me randomly a few years back - but he made LJ a more thoughtful place.

[eryn_]

I spent yesterday and today going through his new apartment and seeing how well his things fit there. It was the first place he'd lived by himself ever. He insisted it was the place and asked me to tour it with him as a friend, but I did not see it like he did, not until I saw it with his things.

We divided shared things amicably, so in one sense it was like finding your entire living room in the lost and found. But it was also like visiting someone's home and knowing why they loved it.

I have started calling people from his contacts list. It's so hard to call strangers who didn't know him by his legal name (but without any idea how they knew him) and explaining that he is dead.