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Ärende: FidoNews 27:47 [02/05]: General Articles
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GENERAL ARTICLES
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Help celebrate the life of Warren Bonner
By Ward Dossche
2:292/854
Born Aug.26 1925 -- Passed away Nov.17 2010.
It was a perfect fall evening in Belgium when the news reached me.
My dear friend Warren Bonner has passed away in California, aged 85.
Fidonet will remember him as an extraordinary editor of Fidonews.
Having had the good fortune of visiting him and his wife Jan at their
home in Orange CA with my daughter on two occasions, I will remember
him for so much more.
It is difficult to gather thoughts and write the correct things, but I
vividly remember that day in 2005 when I first went to visit him.
There was a shrimp plate at the table with a number of dipsauces that
he had made himself from homegrown tomatoes. Jan, his wife, had
curlers in her hair and was slightly embarrassed because of that.
My daughter and I stayed at his place for an hour or two and we
swapped Fido-stories like 2 old farts. He remembered Roy Witt, Doc
Logger, Bob Satti and scores of others. Usually he had something
humorous to say about each and every individual. As he realized he was
moving towards the other end of the life scale, he knew that moments
spent on grudges were moments lost.
When we bid our farewells I saw this then about 80 year old guy with
tears running down his cheeks, we had known eachother only via the
wires but in a very short timespan friendship was forged. Later on he
mailed me that Jan said "Why didn't you take them out to dinner?" An
opportunity had been missed.
I knew I was going back some day.
In 2006 on July 3rd, a year later, that same daughter and myself were
in the Los Angeles area and made a point of visiting those folks
again. We got there in the afternoon of July 3rd and this time Warren
had taken notice of Jan's words ... he had made reservations at a
steakhouse.
Despite a failing eyesight, which was the reason why he dropped being
the Fidonews editor, he got in the car and drove Jan, Nele (my
daughter) and myself to the place where reservations had been made.
That drive was memorable. He must have had a special guardian angel.
Traffic lights, one way streets and "No U-turn" signs were not made
for him. If there was a road to take him to his destination, then that
was the road he was going to take. "Heck, if they didn't want me to
drive here, they shouldn't have made this street in the first place".
His karma was enormous and we made it there alive ... and back to his
house. Warren enjoyed our visit and did what he could to stretch it.
It seemed the city of Orange CA on July 3rd each year had a "Rehearsal
4th of July fireworks". So we watched that together with his visiting
daughter.
Eventually the evening drew to a close and we had to move on to a
hotel somewhere north of LA. I figured I wanted to go back and see him
again, that was the kind of person Warren was, you never got enough of
him. My travels never took me to the LA-area anymore and my desire to
go back for one more visit will never be fulfilled.
Warren nevertheless will live on in my heart because of the unique
person he was.
He told stories without end about his wartime experiences about the
USCGC Eastwind, how they searched for automated Nazi weather stations
on servicing U-boats on Greenland, how they captured a German U-boat
in May 1945 after the war came to an end in Europe only to discover
that it was a transport boat en-route to Japan with a crated
disassembled Me-262 jet fighter, 2 highranking Japanese officers and a
load of uranium. The Japanese officers decided to commit suicide. A
destroyer was called in to escort the sub to a US base somewhere and
in written history of WW2 that destroyer has been credited with the
capture. Warren showed me pictures clearly demonstrating the USCGC
Eastwind alongside that sub and performed "the kill". [as a side note,
some of that uranium eventually was enriched and used in one of the
atom bombs dropped on Japan ... German uranium dropped on Japan, how
ironic]
He wrote a book about the Eastwind, of which I have a copy, and went
to many reunions with former sailors.
After the war he started an automotive business in California, met the
woman with whom he was going to have a family. He weathered dips of
the economy and did pretty well until he retired.
Sitting in his chair was not for him and he took up computing to get
involved in Fidonet. He was already well known to several of us when
the late Bob Satti asked him to take over Fidonews after the passing
of another giant, Doug Myers.
Warren performed this task to near perfection steering his ship away
from rocky grounds and never getting in trouble with anyone.
His eyesight began to worsen and at times he started to forget in
which directory he had put things, so eventually the torch was passed
on to someone else.
The rest is history.
Although he faded away out of Fidonet, we stayed in touch and Warren
on a weekly basis sent comments on developments, jokes, advice, rhymes
and stories. Especially his collection of Maxine-cartoons was
gigantic.
Warren was a man with a golden heart. He made me laugh, he made me
cry, he made me wonder, he made me think, he made me sad, he made me
glad ... I hope one day I will be a Warren Bonner myself.
In closing, here's some of the humour that he once sent me and which
now will not get erased anymore from this harddisc.
Ward
---------------------------------
A distraught senior citizen Phoned her doctor's office. 'Is it true,'
she wanted to know, 'that the medication You prescribed has to be
taken For the rest of my life?' 'Yes, I'm afraid so,' the doctor told
her. There was a moment of silence Before the senior lady replied, I'm
wondering, then, Just how serious is my condition Because this
prescription is marked 'NO REFILLS'.'
---------------------------------
You know you are getting old when Everything either dries up or leaks.
---------------------------------
Ah, being young is beautiful, But being old is comfortable. First
you forget names, Then you forget faces. Then you forget to pull up
your zipper. It's worse when You forget to pull it down.
---------------------------------
Two old guys Are pushing their carts around Wal-Mart When they
collide. The first old guy says to the second guy, 'Sorry about that.
I'm looking for my wife, And I guess I wasn't paying attention To
where I was going. The second old guy says, 'That's OK, it's a
coincidence. I'm looking for my wife, too.' I can't find her and I'm
getting a little desperate' The first old guy says, 'Well, Maybe I can
help you find her.. What does she look like?' ' The second old guy
says, 'Well, she is 27 yrs old, tall, With red hair, Blue eyes, Long
legs, And is wearing short shorts. What does your wife look like?' To
which the first old guy says, 'Doesn't matter, --- let's look for
yours.'
---------------------------------
Funeral Grave site Services will be held Monday, November 29, 2010
9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
Riverside National Cemetery
22495 Van Buren Boulevard
Riverside, California 92518
(951) 653-8417
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