I received a PM from @greenddog1 yesterday, informing me that a longtime Meso member, @kawilt, is gravely ill and not expected to live much longer.
Kawilt was a member of the class of 2013. 2013 was a transitional year for Meso. It marked the return of the underground, but even more importantly, it was the first full year of Millard's experiment with an uncensored forum. During that period, Meso attracted a lot of big personalities and free thinkers, including Kawilt, and those members are largely responsible for having shaped Meso into the great forum that it is today. It truly was a case of "If you build it, they will come."
Kawilt loved a good argument and he never shied away from a challenge. My own history with Kawilt usually involved arguing about something political and we had many great battles over the years. One of the things that made Kawilt stand out to me was the fact that he had the ability to get under my skin like few others could. Our arguments usually ended with me saying something I'd later regret, followed by a PM to kawilt to offer an apology or explanation. To his credit, he never held any grudges - with me or anyone else that he'd argued with. In fact, he'd just laugh, which led me to believe that was his goal all along. He liked to provoke a reaction. Kawilt enjoyed the adversarial camaraderie, but he enjoyed having fun even more.
I don't think any of our arguments ever changed our minds - even though I was always right and he was always wrong - but he did convince me that two people can disagree on politics without being enemies, and that there are good people on both sides. And he helped show me that there are more important things in life than politics and petty disagreements.
Kawilt was a good man, a fine Meso member, a worthy adversary, and a loyal friend. I will miss him a lot.
Fair winds and following seas, my friend.
Sincerely
CBS
Kawilt was a member of the class of 2013. 2013 was a transitional year for Meso. It marked the return of the underground, but even more importantly, it was the first full year of Millard's experiment with an uncensored forum. During that period, Meso attracted a lot of big personalities and free thinkers, including Kawilt, and those members are largely responsible for having shaped Meso into the great forum that it is today. It truly was a case of "If you build it, they will come."
Kawilt loved a good argument and he never shied away from a challenge. My own history with Kawilt usually involved arguing about something political and we had many great battles over the years. One of the things that made Kawilt stand out to me was the fact that he had the ability to get under my skin like few others could. Our arguments usually ended with me saying something I'd later regret, followed by a PM to kawilt to offer an apology or explanation. To his credit, he never held any grudges - with me or anyone else that he'd argued with. In fact, he'd just laugh, which led me to believe that was his goal all along. He liked to provoke a reaction. Kawilt enjoyed the adversarial camaraderie, but he enjoyed having fun even more.
I don't think any of our arguments ever changed our minds - even though I was always right and he was always wrong - but he did convince me that two people can disagree on politics without being enemies, and that there are good people on both sides. And he helped show me that there are more important things in life than politics and petty disagreements.
Kawilt was a good man, a fine Meso member, a worthy adversary, and a loyal friend. I will miss him a lot.
Fair winds and following seas, my friend.
Sincerely
CBS
