Go Rest High
on The Mountian
by Vince Gill
To Bo's Family and Friends,
For whatever it is
worth,
I just wanted to share a wee bit about my experiences with BO.
When we first started out as shy GFHer's, (hosts in training )
he and I worked the Loft in Trees with Nance as the lead host.
We sure learned to type and think fast back then,
and every now and then one of us got the "privilege"
of going to the attic with a handful of chatters.
Bo and I would toss a coin to see who got to go,
and rushed back as soon as the room would clear
<g>..
When we got our new hats 6
years ago... whoooeee... did he look fine!!
Jim was always the reserved gentleman, he never did say
much.
Over the course of the
years, I think we finally got to him. LOL..
This past year,
chatters would flock into the Family Nuthouse (Friday Trees
10-12)
just to see Bo do his thing!
(together we concocted a special bingo congratulations
... I thought up the name.. he thought up the moves).
Actually, I should digress just a wee bit.
Cindy was with us for a while and when things got slow...
she would threaten to take out her "choppers" and make them
dance..
ROFL!! He laughed so hard about that...
and from there we decided to
do something special..
only in our sig... only by him.
Host GFS BO's
Bingo Boogie
::::::::::::::::::hands over head snapping fingers:::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::dancing the Bingo Boogie HOOOOOORAAY::::::::::::::;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;CONGRATS ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
I would bring the Ben-gay
for him, and he would wear his steel toed
boots because he swore I tromped on his feet... auggh...
the nerve of that man! <g>
When he found out he had a
lung tumor,
he was more concerned about me being alone in the SIG and Kate
and Teri not having a third I
(.. hee heee... we joked about him being an eye),
and not about himself.
He didn't want to burden the forum with his problems,
and being such a quiet person, we abided by his wishes, therefore
,
not many knew he was ill. Unfortunately, he got worse,
and we did inform the forum, but shortly afterwards he was called
Home.
During this whole time though,
he always wanted me to tell everyone how much he cared for them,
and how anxious he was to get back to hosting.
He will be sorely
missed...
and there will be no one who can replace my partner in crime.
(when things got kind of hairy in the chats..
and we both had had our fill,
like each of us has done from time to time... he would say... "
Whenever you are ready... when you quit, I quit".
Well Jimbo.. you hung in
there with me through thick and thin,
and one of these days
... get your boots ready
... because I'm gonna claim that dance!!
HOST GFS LEE
When you meet someone who is
truly a good person, you treasure
that person, their caring, and their friendship.
I met BO years ago when I first became a GFS,
but was not lucky enough to host
with him until about four years ago
when I became one of the three hosts for the 3-I's chat
(Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois).
BO was the Iowa expert, Marie the Indiana expert and I tried to hold
up
my end with Illinois. He always called me "his cowgal
buddy".
I'll never forget the
night he IM'd me, asking to meet Lee, Marie and me
in a private chat room asap. The urgency of his message frightened
me.
That's when he told us of his illness, and requested that it be kept
private.
He didn't want to be fussed over, didn't want pity, but felt that
we needed to know in case he could not host because of his
treatments.
He was concerned about us! Of course, we respected his wishes,
and made a pact to cover his chats between the
three of us all the while protecting his privacy.
So, my dear Jimbo,
when you get through with that dance with Lee,
don't forget you promised me a dance, too.
I don't mind playing second fiddle, as long as I get that dance
someday.
Do not stand at my
grave and weep,
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints of snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you waken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplighting rush of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my
grave and weep.....
I am not there. I did not die.
--Author Unknown--
No, Bo.....you did not die.
You will live forever in the hearts of all
you touched with your gentle, quiet strength. I am a better
person
for having known you and being blessed
with your friendship. Bye for now......go with God.
Affectionately,
Kate (Host GFS Kate)
There are so many wonderful
memories that I have of JimBo,
it's hard to find where to begin.
I guess the best place to
start is when I first wandered
into the Golden Gates Genealogy Forum, many years ago,
when IL and IN still had their separate chats.
I was a somewhat of a "newbie" to genealogy, AOL,
and the chat room atmosphere.
I was fortunate enough to be welcomed
with opened arms by a host named GFS BO.
I quickly found myself waiting for Tuesday nights so that I could
learn more from him. He was not only very knowledgeable in the
world of genealogy, he was kind, friendly,
sincere and had a great sense of humor !!
We soon became "pals" and
I'll never forget the night he said
"You should join the forum...... become a host".
Who me????? Well, it took him some time to "con" me into it ,
but he persuaded me to apply. He wrote a great recommendation
letter
to the "powers that be", and I was accepted. The one thing I
wanted
more than anything was to be able to do some of my training
(and eventually stay in) the newly formed 3-I's chat along with
him.
Jim agreed to take on the "responsibility"
of me during my training so that I could do just that.
I am very fortunate that I
was able to meet Jim in person a couple years
ago while he was here in IL. He always thought of others
before he thought of himself.
Geez.. He even called me one night to
make sure I was OK, because he hadn't
seen me online for 3 days !! That alone
tells you what kind of man that he was.
I was also fortunate to see
several of his
"Bingo Boogies" in the TH on Fridays, as Lee mentioned.
He will be in our thoughts every time someone
"bingos" during those two hours every Friday.
His BB's will now be placed in the forums history,
but the memories of Jim dancing them will forever remain in our
hearts.
I'll miss you dearly, my
friend. Your friendship is one that could
never be replaced, and one that I will cherish forever.
You touched my life in ways that even you never knew.
You will be forever in my
thoughts, and knowing you are in a better
place now, will comfort me. If you have the time.. I'll stand in
line
for a dance. If I remember right, you owe me one too <g>.
Teri
Again our forum family has
been
left to feel the loss of a friend and comrade.
I did not know Host GFS BO (Jim)
well, we passed each other in the hall every
Friday night at the change of shifts, but what I
do know of him and by what I have gathered from what others
have told me , Jim was a wonderful caring gentleman, great friend
and
was always kind and never had a bad word for anyone!
Jim these are for you,
