The Quiet Uniter

At the funeral I ran into to so many people from his many worlds that said "Jerry used to call us up and we would all get together". As I thought about it, thats exactly what he did with the windsurfing community in middle Tenn. Besdies of always being on the lake he was a key member of the original Windsurfing Association and acted as Commodore I think even to this day. For nearly a decade when the wind was over 15 mph my phone would ring and I knew it was Jerry. Ive also noticed in the forums the number of people that said that Jerry taught them how to windsurf or just encouraged them to stay with it. If it wasnt for seeing Jerry and Tim out at the lake I would have probably not gone out that much and create all those wonderful moments of waiting on the lake shore discussing condtions, gear, life, and everything else under the sun as we watched it set.

By just being there Jerry had a huge influence on my life during that time. While waiting on the shore for the wind to pick up I would talk about computers and being a self employed computer professional. Jerry showed no interest for years, but then for some reason he agreed to buy one of my old computers. I was thrilled to help him out like he had helped me with windsurfing. I answered questions off an on for a year or so, and then within two years we were all asking him the questions. He not only learned to control the computer but tear them down and put them together from a hardware and software perspective. Very quick learner due to his shear persistance and obsession.

I dont know how he stumbled upon web page construction, but I think this was an extension to quietly unite larger groups of people. Before long he was the best web craftsman of anyone I have ever personally met. We quickly proclaimed him king of the good looking web page and off he went uniting even larger and larger groups. This is evident in the newsgroups that have been buzzing about his sudden death.

At the funeral I met a couple who had only met Jerry once in person but knew him closely because of all the postings on blogs and from creating their web pages. I dont really believe he is gone. I have new computer toys to show him and web pages for my clients that I know he will do a smash up job with. oh and my kids....Im counting on him being there when I show my kids how to work the wind at Cooks beach on Percy Preist Lake. Jerry wont be there and that breaks my heart and I never thought it wouldnt happen. He will just be a legendary figure in words as we describe the man who was the glue for middle tennessee windsurfing. Jerry was a quiet uniter for many lake lovers, bloggers, musicians and Im sure other worlds that I never knew about.