For those of you so inclined, say a prayer for Ric. And when you’re done, maybe offer a few words of encouragement.
Also, if anyone knows of some way to get in touch with Mike at Cold Fury, please let me know. He seems to have disappeared. Mike is one of the sharpest and most honest guys left from the old school blogosphere; I hope he just went off on some sort of adventure without telling us.
****
update: according to a commenter at Ric’s place, Ric passed away this week. More details as I find them out.
My heartfelt condolences to his family and close personal friends.
update 2: Until I get better confirmation, I’m going to remain dubious about the death notice posted on Ric’s page. The presence of a certain newly-resurfaced space-titty scribbling anti-Semite over there, known for his fondness for taking on various identities (and frankly, having been exposed for who he is in real life, can you blame him?), gives me some pause.
update 3:
Mike Hendrix turns up.
Here’s something I’ll say in public that I doubt Mike even knows: of all the bloggers in the blogosphere over the years, Mike is one of a handful I’ve actually always wanted to meet up with in person. Oh, the damage we could do!
update 4:
Afraid it looks like the news of Ric’s passing is true.
It would be great to find and compile his best comments posted here on pw. He was a very sharp dude, and we have lost a true happy warrior. My thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.
Hendrix shows up in the comments at Quick’s. He dropped an e-mail addy there too. On the other hand, the Elf Radio troll shows up at Ric’s.
Just took a look and I see that Mike left a comment over there.
I rather hope that explains the comment between his two comments over at Ric’s, sdferr.
I didn’t read beyond his first comment bh, so don’t even know whether the second was there. Of course, that means I didn’t see the death notice either, goddamnit.
I don’t know why such a notice would come from an “Avid Reader” with no details or why Elf would respond to it a mere five minutes after it was posted.
This is what depraved people do.
Sockpuppets talking to sockpuppets I pray.
I’ll see if I can reach Ric.
Thanks, Jeff. That would be nice.
Ah, Ric. It had been a hard road.
Fly home, man. Fly home.
Wow.
He really went fast, then.
Sux for us, but several months of laboring every day to breathe, and panic attacks to boot?
Not on my worst enemy, and definitely not on Ric.
He did had a rough go for the last few years.
:((
I can’t get Twitter to load, but when I do I’ll go that route. Emails sent.
That Avid Reader response at Ric’s Rulez didn’t offer much help, if any at all, which in turn can cause a cascade of justifiable skepticism as to the initial claim. It’s a thin reed, but worth clinging to in any case until better information is in hand, I think.
I hope the news of Ric’s passing is false. A terrible loss indeed, if true.
– I’m passed the point of caring to suffer these scum any further and would happily drop the hammer on the lot of them if given the chance, which is what I suppose they are in it for in the first place. When you are a soulless misfit, being the king of souless misfits probably seems like some sort of twisted victory.
– Meanwhile I add my voice to all of us hoping Ric is still with us.
Meanwhile I add my voice to all of us hoping Ric is still with us.
I dunno. If he’s having to fight for every breath with no relief but death…
– True that Di. Hoping the death comment is pure rot, I would also hope Ric has a bit of comfort and luck in his fight.
– I’ve seen plenty enough miracles in life to certainly wish one for our dear friend Ric. Life is precious to all of us, and its never over ’til its over.
I don’t see an obit for him here or here. So, I have my doubts.
Instapundit just posted he passed.
I wrote to Insty earlier telling him Ric had passed, but then wrote back telling him that I couldn’t be certain.
Guess he has better sources.
Glenn links Ric’s Facebook page, though it seems one must sign in to Facebook to see what’s written there.
I posted on his blog.I’ll paraphrase it–He was so much smarter than me in his ability to synthesize vast, disaggregated fact-sets, that I took his comments as post-grad work. For as bright as he was, he was also not a jackass, online, and I suspect, off as well.
I learned from him and I am thankful.
I logged into facebook to look and I still don’t see any notice at his page or his brother’s or son’s.
As far as I know we’re going off of an “Avid Reader” who is a “friend of a friend” and doesn’t know any details.
This is in the very post we’re linking. But we’re hearing from “Avid Reader” who is a friend of a friend and knows no details. I don’t know of any actual announcement let alone a confirmation.
James comments.
I still don’t know that we have a confirmation.
“Oh, the damage we could do!”
Yes indeed! Bill Quick and I have talked idly for years about the possibility of the three of us making a joint road trip to NYC one of these days. But if we’re gonna, we need to do it soon, before Bloomberg crushes the last remaining bit of life and fun out of the place.
[…] really hate to hear this. Ric Locke was a valued, highly astute reader and commenter, both here and in other places. Damned […]
From Barb Caffrey (a friend of Ric’s):
Writer Ric Locke Has Died
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Folks, this news stuns me. But here goes: writer Ric Locke, who was a very good friend of my husband Michael, has died.
Now, why should you care about this? Simple. Ric Locke was a very, very good writer — and he also was an extremely close friend of my late husband Michael. Ric’s self-published novel, TEMPORARY DUTY, is a particularly good novel of military science fiction and adventure, and was one of the last novels that Michael edited.
Now as to the particulars of Ric Locke’s passing: he was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer around Father’s Day, but had been given up to a year to live. However, Ric had apparently been having money problems; he couldn’t get the needed medical equipment to help him (oxygen tanks and the means to carry them around). Worse yet, the Social Security Administration was after him because supposedly Locke had “earned too much money” from TEMPORARY DUTY to qualify for help (this last according to writer Tom Kratman).
Ric’s last blog post, made only a few, short days ago, said that he wasn’t doing well, and that the sequel to TEMPORARY DUTY was unlikely to be able to be completed. Because of this, he apologized to those who’d donated in efforts to help him complete his second novel, and he asked for forgiveness. (Which of course he didn’t need to do, but that was Ric; he was conscientious to a fault.)
Ric was a very good man, someone who’d do anything he could to help if he was able . . . he was an excellent writer, a gifted conversationalist, and someone whose loyalty was bone-deep. I know this because of two things — how he thanked Michael years after the fact for editing his novel in a written foreward (something Ric didn’t have to do as Michael was long-dead by the time TEMPORARY DUTY got into print), and because I got a chance to meet up with Ric when he took Michael and me out for dinner back in 2004. We had a riotous writer’s conversation, full of wide-ranging chatter, puns (my husband loved puns, and Ric was no slouch in that department, either), and more than a few alcoholic beverages. (None for me; I was the designated driver.)
It was a night to remember. And it’s something I’m doing my best to recall, because I believe it’s important to remember those you’ve lost the way they actually were when they were brightly alive. (It’s tough to do. But ultimately, it helps a little bit. Nothing helps that much when someone you really care about it is gone from this plane of existence, and I’d be a fool if I said anything else.)
Ric Locke died at 1:36 PM on July 24, 2012. Funeral arrangements are pending, but according to his son, James (who made a comment at Ric’s blog to this effect), his memorial service will be held in Mineral Wells, TX — Ric’s hometown.**
You may have noticed that I haven’t given an age for Ric — that’s because I’m unsure what it actually was, except “older than me or Michael.” (My best guess is that Ric was in his early sixties, but I may be wrong.) But age is irrelevant; what matters is what you did on this Earth, and the people you got a chance to meet while you were here.
Ric Locke did a great deal, met many interesting people, and wrote a fantastic book of military SF that you owe it to yourself to read. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
————
**Those of you who read this blog who wish to go to Ric’s funeral need to get a hold of his son, James; he has a Facebook presence, but if you can’t find him, let me know and I’ll be glad to help if I possibly can.
I had the great fortune to speak with Ric a couple of weeks ago. He was genuinely humbled by the generous support he received after word got out about his condition.
The day I spoke with him he was expecting an O2 device and I read a comment from him a couple of days later that the device was helping.
I’m sorry I didn’t follow up, but I thought he had more time.
There’s a lesson in there that I should have already learned.
God Speed Ric,
Put a good word in to the Commander for those of us still trying to navigate Down Range.
Any amount of time with a good friend is a blessing. It’s not possible to be cheated of more.
I just, for the first time in my life, passed by Mineral Wells today. Damn.
The intertubes just got a whole lot smaller.
[…] had it yesterday, and so did Jeff. Tweet Posted in Editors' […]
Ric Locke passed away 3 years ago, on July 24th 2012. I never knew Ric personally but I’ve read his book at least 20 times and every time I read it, I find something new to think and wonder about. While the plot is relatively simple, the twists, the jokes and the references make this book truly unique.
When I learned of his death I set up a fan site at temporaryduty.org. My goal is to pick up where Ric has left off. My attempts to reach his family have been so far unsuccessful.
Rest in peace Ric! We will keep your memory alive!