Holy crap...
I had always wondered about Ninj, who he was, what he looked like, how old he was. I remember finding his site back in 2000 and thinking how cool it was. I did a bit of UE here and there at the time, but it was his site that really got me interested.
I would pester him with emails, trying to get him to take me out with him, but he never told me off. He did get irritated, I could tell that, but he held back from telling me to f**k off outright. What he did do, though, was encourage me to go out and do it myself, not to rely on other people.
Even during those emails back and forth, we found out that he had been living not that far from me, though had moved to Toronto at that point (if memory serves correct). I always had a feeling I had seen or met him before, though I will never know. I always did want to meet him face to face, knowingly, but that cannot happen now.
The outpouring here is truly tremendous, but it makes sense, someone young and admired taken way too early. I am amazed how much his passing is afffecting me right now, as well as the kind words here. But it does re-affirm my faith in people. It is good to know that someone who lived life, really lived it, who touched a lot of people can be remembered. Be it in words and images, sights and sounds, and in all of our memories.
It is hard to face your own morality, but as you get older you tend to be able to do it more often. Heck, I am only approaching 33, but sometimes it freaks me out. Facing the inevitable with dignity is all any of us can ask for.
And in times like this, maybe people need to step back and have a think, take stock of where we are and what we are doing. Maybe think about petty squabbles and bulls**t and think if they are necessary. Read through the posts above, see how much people are together, banded around what it is they love to do. Perhaps we should all start working with the positives, rather than the negatives, yes? As Ninj did with me, lets try not to retaliate against the irritator, instead we should try to gently guide them in the correct direction, yes?
In his memory, let us continue to go where we should not (regardless of where that is), stop to help a fellow explorer out, watch our tongues and treat each other with kindness... and leave nothing but footprints behind...