Remembering Opa

A strange confluence of events leads me to writing this post and hoping you all will allow me this indulgence.

 

It has been a little over five years since we, the flight sim community, lost one of our most beloved members, David "Opa" Marshall.

 

While I often think of Opa I always tend to miss him more than usual this time of year.

 

Those feelings have been compounded this year by a recent death in my family, also a loss of someone much too young.

 

A recent post in the FS9 forum about John Wayne Airport and it's LDA approach had me thinking that "if Dave were here he would remember all of the details that have escaped me".

 

Over the years several folks have asked me about my signature which is in reference to a conversation I had with Dave that I thought was done in PMs, which had since long been erased.

 

Imagine my delight when in searching for posts regarding KSNA I found this...

 

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?222257-747-panel-problem

 

...which was one of several exchanges we shared playfully giving each other "the business".

 

Anywho, knowing this post will not be of much interest to anyone else I will end it here with the knowledge that it...

 

a) brightened my day a bit, and

 

2) allows me to bookmark the original post should anyone ask about my signature again.

 

Take care all, and tell those you love how you feel about them, often.

 

You never know what tomorrow will bring.

 

peace,

the Bean

Mr. Bean,

I am most sorry for your loss, first and foremost. I am glad this post helped relieve the sorrow a little bit.

Second, while I never personally knew Mr. Marshall, I have read a LOT of his posts while searching for other information. His knowledge, and amazing flight sim skills, are truly legendary, as was his humor and way of gently putting that information out, without sounding superior or condescending. His Tips and Tricks series is truly legendary in the flightsim community.

He is missed, even by those who didn't know him, but know his work. His a true loss to the community, no question.

Here's hoping you feel better soon, Mr. Bean.

Pat☺

We're here for ya Bean and you can always count on us for support and maybe even some day brightening once in a while! ;)

My condolences also Stringbean, perhaps I can brighten your a day a little by confessing that the problem 747 panel in your link was one of mine! I uploaded the black screen and Course selector fix to the Avsim Library way back then, but I still don't know what possessed me to change the EFIS screen... Perhaps I should make amends and upload another fix.

Best wishes, Tim Wright

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/MissingManFormation2_zpsb1vzjtsn.jpg~original

 

Opa and me spoke to each other a few times in posts and got on great, he was a real gentleman..:)

Whenever a forum community loses a member it hits us all hard, for example the Mission4Today flight sim website lost a young dutch guy called Joppe to leukaemia a few years ago and we felt like we'd been kicked by a mule, and last year the Blitz wargame site lost 75-year-old ex C-130 loadmaster Denny to a heart attack and we felt gutted again.

 

PS- And a woman on the AOL philosophy chat boards died in a house fire a while back, the board had been discussing life after death and I happened to mention the 'Dying Friends Farewell' to her which sadly turned out to be prophetic-

"Meet me out beyond the stars a few years from today,

Far from the world we used to know, a universe away"..