(I am still getting reports from people who have NOT received this post.
So, I will try it again, but this time in two parts.)
I have been a professional wordsmith all of my life. And yet, today I
cannot find the words to describe how I feel on Frank's passing. I am
simply bereft beyond all comprehension at the loss of a friend like no other
I have had in this life. I think that because for two incredibly fantastic
weeks, Frank and I were on a unique odyssey traveling the highways and
byways of England, I had a quite different insight into Frank than others
might have had. He was simply a remarkable man, inside and out.
I am afraid that when Diane called with the news, I was shattered and I came
to pieces. So, too, was Pam; how she and Diane were able to understand
each other through their mournful crying I do not know. My own sobbing has
been inconsolable. Since that moment, Frank has never left my mind and I
think of the good times we shared in our almost daily contact, either by
telephone or through e-mail; the tears never far away.
How does one describe Frank Clarici? Pam said that the first thing that
came to mind was "happy", and he was certainly that. How else to describe
him? Larger than life, happy-go-lucky, never knew a stranger, generous, big
hearted, magnanimous, good hearted, kind, open handed, unselfish, unsparing,
overgenerous. All, without question, apply to Frank.
Like several others, I first met Frank at the BusterCluster in 2006. Oh, I
had exchanged e-mail with him through the Spridget list, realizing that he
and I had both signed up on its first day in business. At the
BusterCluster, Frank was everywhere working with different small groups
tasked with a small piece of the action. Throughout those mystical, magical
three days, Frank was the "go to guy" whenever someone was faced with a
thorny problem. How I remember the big joke was that Frank was going to
lift the engine in single-handedly. He didn't, of course, but
unfortunately, he took home a hernia for his effort.
I can honestly say that I have never met anyone other than Frank who has
shared so well my warped sense of humor. The cartoons and jokes we shared
to each other but no other, were to me a measure of the man. Naturally, so
many of them revolved around "Chinese Crap" and his great, uh.errr. "love"
of everything Chinese. Once, I bought a computer program for learning
Chinese, sending it to him in a package with everything in Chinese
characters. Then there was the time I sent him tickets to a Chinese New
Year's Ball. And stuff from the Chinese embassy. And whenever I called,
it was either from the Chinese take-out asking about his order, or I was
asking Diane for "Ching Chang Charry Carici".
(See Part 2) for the rest.
Buster Evans
The BusterCluster Sprite
http://www.ado13.com/BusterCluster.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs1klEzra24
http://bustercluster.blogspot.com/
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