Three years: in memory of FredHJr
This post probably won’t mean much to newcomers to this blog. But I bet most of the oldtimers remember, and still acutely miss FredHJr, one of the most memorable and prolific commenters here. It hardly seems possible that three years have passed since his tragic and untimely death on June 26, 2009. The loss to this community has been a great one; we could sorely use a large dose of his wit and wisdom.
The loss his family feels is far greater, and I am thinking of them this week and hoping they have found comfort in the memory of his love and faith.
And now I will reprise some words I wrote when I first heard of Fred’s death:
Even though none of us actually met Fred in the real world, most of the regulars here knew FredHjr as I knew him””a brilliant mind containing knowledge of unusual depth and breadth, and demonstrating a rare ability to articulate his thoughts with precision, grace, and logic; a staunch patriot and passionate defender of liberty who never pulled his punches; a “changer” who had been a Marxist in his youth and held a vast storehouse of expertise on how the Left thinks and operates; a seeker of truth with an almost inexhaustible interest in the world around him; and a man of strong religious faith and great and abiding love for his family.
The news of his extremely untimely and tragic death comes as a great shock. It’s also a reminder that people here can become an important part of our lives; we feel as though we know them, even though our knowledge of them is only of the virtual sort. But minds meeting minds is a very powerful thing nonetheless.
[NOTE: Here is Fred’s obituary.]
[ADDENDUM: I was thinking it might be interesting to look back at some of Fred’s comments and post an appropriately prescient one here. I offer (rather quickly located) this one from June 20, 2009:
Obama is not at all interested in slowing down and building from a solid base. As for fixing Medicare, neither he nor his bureaucratic apparatchiks and czars are true tinkerers.
He is a man in a hurry. Nancy Pelosi is in a hurry. That should give people a clue as to what the people in power right now are thinking. If you are not asking yourself “why the hurry?” then you are not thinking this through to the logical, probable motives.
I think Soros and the oligarchs are in a hurry too.
All of these actors know something about the likely reaction to this program combined with a context of a failing economy: it means the Dems are in trouble in 2010 and beyond.
Obama is not a details man, therefore he couldn’t be bothered with trying to convince anyone that a fixed Medicare program would possibly mean the model could be applied to the wider society. He’s in a hurry because he’s a man on a mission to implement change before the opportunity is lost.]
Well, it’s probably a good thing that he didn’t live to see last Thursday.
RIP, Fred.
I expect Fred would have things to say that would pull the whole mess into perspective.
“The Greeks demand Wisdom, the Jews look for a Sign…”
Fred could do both…no higher compliment can be paid.
Miss ya, Fred…
A fitting tribute to an estimable man. Well done, neo.
Thanks for the memory of Fred, neo. The years have flown by and now we see in even clearer terms how spot on Fred’s insight was. Yes, he added much wisdom to the discussion.
Has it been three years already? Fred had a knack for skewering the left and seeing through its b.s. that came from being one of them for a time. He knew what they were about, and made sure we knew, too, with wit, clarity, and reason.
Three years. Wow. Breitbart’s demise reminded me of Fred. All that knowledge and goodness, just gone in an instant. Almost like they were needed somewhere else in a hurry.
I’ll never forget either one.
RIP FredHjr
Neoneocon,
I’m sure most of us have not committed the date of Fred’s death to memory, yet, even if unspoken, we remember him oftentimes in our conversations and especially vividly now as we realize that it has already been three years.
If I may be so bold as to speak for all of us, Thank You for the reminder and the memorial.
Thank you for reminding us old timers Neo
RIP. Indeed, when the salesman says hurry up, this is a limited-time offer, it is time to put your hand over your wallet and say thanks-but-no-thanks.
I’m in the mood for some Ann Barnhardt:
http://barnhardt.biz/index.cfm
Since I can’t link to her individual posts, see “Stupid, Stupid Jackasses Part 1 & 2”.
Don’t miss the video of her reciting Patrick Henry’s speech in Part 2.
I’m there now. I’m with her, and Henry: Let it come.
And no, I don’t think Fred would object to me putting it on this thread.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm1rBe_RoU0&feature=youtu.be and here is another “changer”, Thomas Sowell on himself once having been a Marxist.
To all the beautiful “changers,” including Fred in heaven:
The Thomas Sowell piece above is brilliant. I listened 3 times. It is the most succinct statement I can remember.
The two premises: brilliant.
The three questions: brilliant
When talking with those who have not yet changed, to avoid argument we can just ask what is their foundational belief:
a belief in the possibility of redemption of each soul or a belief in social engineering.
Amen.
Minds meeting minds!
That’s what’s special here, and FredHJr had special and wise things to say and a talent for saying them. That is not to dampen those of us who have not his talent or profundity; few do. But we should try because he would agree with Emily Dickinson:
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.
Never stops at all! Fred hasn’t stopped either.
Fred is missed.
Gee, I feel old(er) now.
I love how the intertracks can connect people who would likely never meet.
I seem to have first come here right after Fred’s passing; consequently, unlike some of the others above who I’ve come to respect and read on a daily basis over the past few years (T, Baklava, Curtis, rickl, JJ, SteveH), I never got to do the same with him.
Still, one thing I know is that no one so respected and admired by everyone here could be anything but remarkable, his loss profound.
I don’t remember if I wrote something like this for last year’s memorial, but if so, I am more than happy to be repeating myself this year.
RIP Fred.