Two years since we lost Andy. It seems impossible even now.

[EFerrari]

"There's a great spirit gone." -- Antony & Cleopatra

Andy was a greatheart and today is the anniversary of our loss. The world still seems sort of empty without him -- it probably always will.

But when I think of Andy today, I don't think of cancer or of the smear campaign or of that grifter. I think of Andy singing and cracking jokes and poking around because of his endless curiosity. And I think of how many people loved him -- because, lol, if you knew Andy, you had to.

Miss you, Andy. I was so lucky to be your friend.

:hug:
:grouphug:

[MuseRider]

1. What a wonderful picture

and such wonderful thoughts from you.

I miss him and I really barely knew him and what I knew was from here.

Peace Andy, we are doing our best to continue on.

[EFerrari]

3. If other DUers have pictures of him, I hope they post them.

:)

[Pastiche423]

57. A few more pics of Andy

Andy and Jeff (nostamj sp?)

[EFerrari]

75. LOL! Look at that smile! Thanks!

:hi:

[Pastiche423]

105. That's an ANDY smile!

Thank you so much for this thread, Beth.

I miss him so much, but he's always in my heart.

[EFerrari]

106. You know, I cried today but that was selfishness, human stuff.

Mostly, I feel lucky that we got to know him a little and got to share his gifts.

That's pretty cool, when you think about it. :hug:

[Lady President]

81. Andy's visit to Columbus!

I didn't realize that dinner with Andy was so long ago. At the time my dad was also battling cancer, so it was wonderful to see someone with cancer looking so good and upbeat. Sadly, a few months later they were both gone.

One little story... The two of us laughed until we cried talking about the Moran Picture. We decided that it would never stop being the funniest thing ever. :)

[EFerrari]

83. And you were right!

lol

[Pastiche423]

101. Thank you for letting me know where the pic was from!

When people posted pics of Andy while he was working so hard for US, I "stole" them and have kept them on my hard drive.

A few years before, "Coppertop" I spent late nights chatting on bpilgrim's site. It was great having a kindred night owl!

[Decruiter]

109. Wait just a minute. There is Andy with Jeff, as in Nostamj, DU's original

Toon guy. I talked with Jeff just within a week of his sudden passing. Thank you for sharing this pic.

Jeff had created a couple of designs at my request and we were in process of having them created into bumper stickers, t's and etc.

I miss them both so much. Jeff never even let anyone know he was not well, just all of a sudden he was gone.

To all our special DU'ers we've lost too soon. We miss you lots.

[Pastiche423]

120. Do you know what he died of?

I heard that it was a bad bug from a hospital, but never heard it confirmed.

I had so much fun w/Jeff when he created his website, Question W. Although the site is no longer there, Althecat from Scoop has a partial page of it.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0305/S00098.htm

[Decruiter]

123. No, I do not, one day I was talking with him, a couple of days later he

was gone. I think just maybe his loss hit me just a little harder than Andy's because it came from so out of the blue.

I had a t-shirt for Cindy made on the ?W theme right after she arrived in Crawford in August of 2005. I wish I could find his original ?W design.

Peace and thanks for remembering.

All the good ones die too young.

[Senator]

89. Here's my favorite pic

[EFerrari]

92. I've never seen this! Where is that?

lol

[Senator]

117. It's outside the Nashville Gathering

Andy was kind of hiding a bit on the parking lot side of the building. Why?

To talk privately on his cell phone of course (there's an earpiece).

--
If you just remove "small" from the picture's URL (.../AndyTN.jpg), you can download the full size version (672K).

--

[EFerrari]

118. LOL! Andy could have given grad courses on Phone.

Thank you, Senator. :)

[EFerrari]

13. He would love that, I think.

:hug:

[Kelvin Mace]

31. I have the same pic

on my web site as it was *so* Andy. It radiates warmth.

[MuseRider]

39. It really does.

That is how I will always remember him. Somehow he always seemed to be able to smile. Having not really known him I can say that his warmth always was apparent, even just online. What a guy he was.

[annabanana]

2. Two Years... How can it have been so long?

What a good and great soul.

[EFerrari]

12. I found this great photo

:)

[LWolf]

4. The time has passed swiftly.

DU is continuing to grow and evolve, and life and time move on.

Andy and nostamj are two whose thoughts, whose energy, whose passion I still miss every time I log on.

[yewberry]

5. Thanks for such a lovely post.

I'm glad to hear that you remember him in such a good way. I really only knew him online, and my feelings of anger are still hard for me to handle--thanks for the reminder that those good feelings and thoughts are the important things to keep with me.

:hug:

[EFerrari]

7. For flyarm and for Andy and Termite, MissWaverly and merh

troubleinwinter, fooj and mogster, benburch and redstone and goodboy and greatauntoftriplets, Will Pitt and VelmaD, for Stephanie and coffenap and understanding life and all the DUers who made a circle around Andy. If I've left anyone out, please forgive me. :loveya:

I Get A Kick Out Of You
(Porter),

My story is much too sad to be told,
But practically everything leaves me totally cold.
The only exception I know is the case,
When I'm out on a quiet spree fightly vainly the old ennui,
And I suddenly turn and see your fabulous face!

I get no kick from champagne, mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all,
So tell me why should it be true, that I get a kick out of you?
Some get a kick from cocaine, I'm sure that if I took even one sniff
That would bore me terrifically, too, yet I get a kick out of you.
I get a kick every time I see you're standing there before me.
I get a kick though it's clear to me, you obviously don't adore me.
I get no kick in a plane, flying too high with some gal in the sky
Is my idea of nothing to do, yet I get a kick out of you!

[Horse with no Name]

64. What a wonderful tribute to these wonderful DU'ers

:hug:

[dogday]

6. K&R In Remembrance of Andy

:hug:

[EFerrari]

11. Thank you, dogday.

:hug:

[greatauntoftriplets]

8. I miss Andy so much...

I was lucky to have known him, if only for a too-brief time.

[EFerrari]

9. I know. Andy was one week younger than my little brother.

:hug:

[EFerrari]

10. Andy in Nashville

[Wiley50]

15. I hung out with Andy that weekend in Nashville

He and Brad and I spent much of the weekend hanging out together
in front of the church in the designated smoking area.

We had been keeping in touch before then by email and phone
so it was great to finally meet him.

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to know him longer.
(He was already pretty sick, even then
but, he was a real trouper about it)

[EFerrari]

18. I bet it made him feel better to do something remotely normal. n/t

[Stephanie]

14. I think of Andy explaining the danger of electronic voting to drunk Republicans.

It was during the convention and at the end of the day we walked by a "Young" Republicans party at a pool hall near my house. A few were standing outside, drunk and smoking cigars, and Andy started handing out info and talking to them about the voting machines. It was hysterical. Nobody could resist Andy's charm.

[EFerrari]

16. That's hilarious! Did you know that during his last week on Earth

he was educating his nurses?

:hug:

[The Straight Story]

17. Here are some pics of him

I used them in a video I made for you tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-10_iPus9g

[EFerrari]

19. Thank you, The Straight Story.

[Laurab]

26. Thank you - the video gave me chills

and I've always loved the picture of Andy in the hat.

I only knew Andy from here, but that was enough to see that he was a beam of sunshine during some dark times. I miss him.

[Decruiter]

124. Nice job. You also had a pic of Cindy Sheehan in a pose I'm looking for more

of in that same time frame, were you there in Crawford?

Also, did you use a pic of a grown up John Jr.?

He was going to run against Dubya for Prez, did you know?

[WilliamPitt]

20. A picture from the last day I saw him alive

Flash forward to a cold day in January 2005. I walked the route of the Bush inauguration in Washington DC, counting the protesters and the Bush supporters who were squaring off in shouting matches on every corner. It wasn't Boston cold, but it was cold enough, the chill in the air enhanced by the overwhelming police and military presence. I made my way down to the main protest gathering point, and there in the crowd was a familiar face.

Andy Stephenson stood off to the side, red hair sliding out from under a black wool cap, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his pea coat, ruddy face downcast as he watched the parade go by. We looked at each other a moment, no words available to capture the bottomless depths we felt yawning before us, and then turned to watch the show. When Bush went by in his rolling cannonball of an armored limousine, Andy and I and everyone gathered on that corner turned our backs.

Later that night we sat together with a large crew of activists in a bar that had come to be our gathering point for post-action decompression in DC. I looked over at one point and saw Andy weeping silently, shoulders shaking as all of the frustration and anger poured out of him. Everything he had warned us about in July had happened - in Ohio, in Florida, in New Mexico - and on that night he felt like an utter failure.

Several of us gathered around him to console him. I took his hand and said, "You know, Andy, it could be worse." He looked up at me and asked, "How on Earth could it be worse?" I looked at him with straight-faced solemnity and said, "You could be straight." He smiled that utterly incomparable Andy Stephenson smile and laughed until he was fit to split.

That was the last time I saw him.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/071105Y.shtml

[EFerrari]

21. . . .

:hug:

[lala_rawraw]

70. will remember the so called

"conspiracy" we were part of to steal his donation money and go into hiding together, all three of us? unreal

[WilliamPitt]

127. I'm hiding right now.

:eyes:

:hug:

[eridani]

22. Andy--I miss you!

I am carrying on the fight for election transparency as much as I am able. Also universal health care, which might have saved your life. Your memorial is what people do to honor your memory, and there are many of us carrying your torch.

[EFerrari]

23. kick

[VelmaD]

24. I still miss him every day

I would give just about anything to hear him laugh or sing right now. Or just to talk to him...just to hear his voice for a minute.

:cry:

[EFerrari]

25. Hi there, VelmaD. I know what you mean I think.

:hug:

[Individualist]

27. It doesn't seem possible that two years have gone by

since we lost Andy.

[poverlay]

28. I discovered DU right before Andy died and the outpouring of love and grief still stuns

me to this day. That glimpse into the soul of DU not only made me proud to be a member here, it made me feel honored.

I am honored by you all.
I thank you all.
I want you to know that I stand by your side as surely as you stood by Andy's.
We will keep up the fight for his memory and the memory of all those who have gone before...

Finally,
I wish a beautiful journey for Andy and hope to get to know him someday in that great chat room in the sky.

Thank you DU.

[EFerrari]

29. Andy, as Will said, was the best of us and, he brought out

the best in us.

[shadowknows69]

30. .......

K+R

[Kelvin Mace]

32. I still have the last voice mails he left me

I have never had the heart to delete them

[EFerrari]

40. Me, too.

:hug:

[coffeenap]

65. Me too! And, his numbers are still on my phones! nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

33. I only knew him online...

We exchanged emails a couple of times...

He was always so grateful for any funds I sent...

I stood in the presence of greatness; I knew it then, and I know it now...

What a loss......

I was on vacation when he died, and when I got home, I wanted to find out how he was doing...

It came as a complete shock that he was gone...

I will always remember him, and treasure that memory...

That which is remembered, lives...

:patriot:

K&R

[troubleinwinter]

34. >

and paper Ballot, too!

[EFerrari]

36. That sink is the best thing I've ever seen.

:hug:

[Dinger]

35. I Nver Knew Him, But I Read About Him On DU. Yes, He Will Be Greatly Missed

How about posting some of Andy's posts, as a memorial? is that possible??

[EFerrari]

42. I'm a little wobbly right now, Dinger, but that's a good idea.

:)

[Dinger]

68. Thanks sfexpat2000,

Wouldn't it be cool if we could have a posthumous DUzy for Andy!?!?!

[EFerrari]

85. He *was* a Duzy.

lol

:hi:

[mogster]

37. Kick for Andy!

And Beth :-)
I remember him too, although I never met him. I just put on a record of Simply Red, used to play that a lot back in 05.

[EFerrari]

38. Thanks, mogster! You were so great during all of that.

And I'm sure you are still great. :hug:

[merh]

41. Has it been two years?

So much has happened, but it still seems like yesterday when I spoke with him last.

He will always have a place in my heart and he lives there. :hug: :loveya:


And for you dear friend, sfexpat, :hug: <<< from me :hug: <<< from Andy :grouphug: <<<< the both of us.


:loveya:

[EFerrari]

44. . . .

:hug:

[Catherine Vincent]

43. Hard to believe it's been two years.

He was such a great person. I am grateful to have bene connected with him somehow.

Peace!

[troubleinwinter]

45. Andy with goodboy

Taken a few days before his sugery, Andy was on the road, teaching about Paper Ballots!

[EFerrari]

46. With a PHONE glued to his ear.

:rofl:

[mogster]

47. BTW

The Andy back yard site url is gone. Seems my old registrar forgot to renew the domain (although I paid the bill), and the domain was snatched by somebody. I've put it up on the same url, but with .net instead of .org at the end.

:hug:

[EFerrari]

51. Thank you, mogster.

:hug:

[troubleinwinter]

48. 'What A Ballot Is'

The following was written by Andy on April 29, 2005. It is a draft, about which he said, "Just putting thoughts on paper right now. So in case something happens to me, god forbid...I have it down for others in the future."

What A Ballot Is

What a ballot is: It is not merely a piece of paper, it is me...it is my voice. Each of us should guard it more than we would our most prized or precious possession. That ballot protects our other possessions. Without it you have no say. Over the last couple of years I have been adamant about the need for a voter verified paper ballot. It has been the driving force behind what I have done and will continue to do. To me, my ballot is the most sacred sacrament of the secular religion we call Democracy.

I have traveled around this country meeting with Election Officials such as Mischelle Townsend. I sent her into a tailspin when I put a camera in her face. Mischelle Townsend as you remember was the County Registrar in Riverside CO. Ca. Mischelle is a drippy sweet kind of woman but underneath beats the heart of a true viper. Mischelle has unwavering faith in Sequoia Voting Systems. She is a huge proponent of paperless DRE's. Where is Mischelle now? Well last I heard she was at home tending to her father-in-law's knee. She spent her last day at work holed up in her office with the door closed to avoid cameras. David Elliot is another viper. David was the head honcho over at NASED. He was the one person most responsible for allowing DRE’s to be approved for use. David was another really bad guy. He told me that he would have liked to have been able to talk less formally “without the camera.” I am sure he would have. But hey…I wanted to keep him honest. David retired from service to the state to attend to a “nervous condition.” Another piece of work was Scott Konopasek. Scott was the Registrar in San Bernardino Co Ca. Scott was the man responsible for DRE’s in two places, Snohomish WA and San Bernardino CA. Scott once remarked that Bev and I were waging “Jihad”, but not in a “Palestine Israel sense of the word, but in more of a Northern Ireland sense of the word.” Excuse me but WTF? Scott is now a “consultant” I worry when former elections officials become consultants. The one thing all these people have in common is an undying faith in paperless voting. I would say that they were all crooked but that would get me sued so I won’t say it. But I had no faith that they were protecting the ballot.

Now I know that I have gotten off track here and talked about all the bad guys in elections but there are people protecting your ballot. Some examples are Freddie Oakley of Yolo County California, Ion Sancho of Leon County Florida and Kevin Shelly and Julie Anne Kempf formerly of King County Washington. These people are examples of people working hard to protect our right to vote and in the case of Julie Anne losing their job in the process. I have talked here about the people but not ballots up to this point. There is a reason for that. The first group of people is out to get your ballot the second wants to preserve your ballot.

There are currently many definitions and thoughts on the subject of ballots. Some would argue that paper records or paper trails can serve the same purpose as a paper ballot. All legislation I see coming from Washington these days talk of Paper records/trails that are kept in a similar manner as ballots. They are to be the official record of the election and are to be used in case of manual recounts. As an example of how hard this would be, let’s look at Diebold’s VVPAT. A long register receipt type “paper trail” is printed. Granted it is better than what does not come from their DRE’s now but it would be very difficult to “hand” count. So why spend money on it, if it does not really do what we want it to do? It is similar but not the same as a ballot. Imagine a 75 year old trying to read the small type on that paper trail. Some, such as our first group of people would argue that an electronic version of the ballot is ok and perfectly acceptable. David Dill explains that voting on DRE’s is like handing your ballot to a man behind a curtain, telling him how you want to vote, he fills in your choices and you never see the ballot again. This is UNACCEPTABLE! Our ballot must be human readable we must be able to discern our own choices and not leave it to a machine interface. Now this is not always possible as in the case of the blind but there are technologies that help the blind to vote in secret that produce a ballot. Equipment such as Automark produces an optical scan or human readable ballot. The ballot is printed on a heavy weight 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper with standard markings. Any human or optical scan machine can read these ballots and they are ideal for hand counts should the need arise.

Now there are many people that say we should be all hand counted paper all the time. In an ideal world we would do that. But realistically that is not going to happen. Elections offices in most jurisdictions, if not all, are under funded. Elections officials struggle with tight budgets and in most cases do a damned good job with what they have. Not all elections officials are bad and many want to run good clean elections. Keeping the system honest is up to us. With proper auditing and truly random recounts, optical scans are the safest and most accurate way to count an election. The trouble starts when the votes are sent via electronic means to a central tabulator. I would also add that the tabulator needs to be as secure as Ft. Knox because after all, our votes are more precious than gold.

~Andy Stephenson 4/29/2005

[ronnykmarshall]

49. It's been TWO years now?

Oh my god. I'll always treasure the sweet card I got from his lover after he died.

What a great friend he was to all of us.

To ANDY! :toast:

[EFerrari]

53. To our friend, Andy and to Termite.

:toast:

[entanglement]

50. Thanks for this thread

I understand your grief is deep and sincere and know he was a dear friend of yours. I was a relative newbie during the fund-raising for Andy in May 2005, but I admired your enthusiasm and energy and thought he was lucky to have such a great friend (and merh, too, right?)

I share with you my own experience with bereavement. Time blunts the sharp edge of the pain, and even confers a degree of acceptance to the bereaved but there is a void, vast and unfathomable that one deals with for the remainder of one's existence. Attempting to fill this chasm with pleasant memories of days gone by is such a bittersweet experience! The dull sensation of loss is like the tide: it swells and ebbs, swells and ebbs, but never really goes away.

:hug:
entanglement

[EFerrari]

52. DU. Lots of DUers and, all of DU.

It never does go away but you learn to love the loss because it connects you, still. :hug:

[Ms. Clio]

54. wonderful post

:hug:

[EFerrari]

55. Have to log out for a bit. Thanks for sitting with me.

And, I haven't thanked the admins and mods for surfing the whole fracas. They were great. :hug:

[Ms. Clio]

58. yes, they generally are

:yourock:

[aikoaiko]

56. I don't know this ANdy, but he was much loved and admired to be sure.

Sounds like a good man and you all do his memory justice.

[yowzayowzayowza]

59. K&R

[AnnInLa]

60. He Seems to Still Be Here

Thanks for the post and the opportunity to remember.

[Swamp Rat]

61. .

:cry:

:kick:

[coffeenap]

62. Oh, my friend. No wonder I woke up in panic mode early this

morning. He was a gift to the world. He was someone who inspired others to change things and what better legacy could there be?

I was lucky too. My constant memory of him is the plethora of energized phone conversations we had. No small talk, just right into what was good or what was bad that day. (Of course, sometimes it was the latest gossip from Washington, but what the hell.) He was a gem!

Andy, you will not be forgotten, and you will be treasured for as long as we live.

:hug: :hug: :hug: :grouphug: :cry:

(Thanks for posting this,sfexpat2000--sorry I didn't see it til now...:hug:

[EFerrari]

87. To our friend, coffeenap. Sometime, I'm going out there

and you can tell me the stories. :toast:

[Horse with no Name]

63. Even now

I sit and think about the miraculous thing that DU did for Andy.
And I still think of the horrendous thing the site-that-shall-not-be-named did.

Even now
When I never hear your name
And the world has changed so much since you been gone
Even now I still remember and the feeling's still the same
And the pain inside of me goes on and on
Even now

Even now when I have come so far
I wonder where you are
I wonder why it's still so hard without you
Even now when I come shining through
I swear I think of you
And God I wish you knew
Some how
Even now

[Catherine Vincent]

66. Kick!

In memory of Andy....

[Solly Mack]

67. He had the best smile

[lala_rawraw]

69. still too much for me...:(

[EFerrari]

72. I know, lala

:hug:

[Melissa G]

71. Hi Beth, Love to you and all who knew Andy and are missing him

I only started talking to Andy toward the end of his life and all we ever shared were phone conversations and emails which I too, still have.

He was totally generous and willing to educate about anything I ever needed. Even when he was scared. Even when he was sick. He had incredible focus and loving presence and he shared it effortlessly.
He is missed and still lives on in those of us who remember and carry the fight on in his memory.
:loveya: :grouphug:

[EFerrari]

74. He never stopped, right on up to the very last. He was ruthless

in the best possible way, lol.

:hug:

[Melissa G]

82. Love to you, Hermana. For all you did for Andy and still do in his memory.

Here is to all of us keeping Andy's dreams alive! :toast: :hug:

[EFerrari]

93. It was so funny in a way because, he turned this house upside down.

We were basically his staff, lol, and happy to do it. I'm just glad he never asked us to jump off a bridge. Rock on, hermana. :rofl:

[OzarkDem]

73. Still miss him

though I never really knew him, I understood what he was going through when he was diagnosed.

He would really want us to be fighting for health care reform right now, wouldn't he?

[EFerrari]

76. Yes, he very specifically said so.

:hi:

[Spazito]

77. I never had the good fortune to meet Andy in person, only on

DU. It's hard to believe it has been two years, in some ways it seems much longer and, in others, just yesterday.

Thank you for posting this, sfexpat2000, memories of his posts, PMs, his humor and passion even through his most difficult times have come flooding back to me.

[EFerrari]

78. I never met him either although we talked on the phone

a brazilion times. He had a black belt in telephone. :)

[loudsue]

79. There was only ONE like Andy... they broke the mold when they made him.

:cry: I miss him still.

Thank you, sfexpat, for the memorium. He was one EXTREMELY special human being.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Marnieworld]

80. I found his thank you note to me again the other day

Thanks Andy. You'll be forever missed.:cry:

[libnnc]

84. I remember him posting that he was so very tired

and I told him to get some rest...to "lay his little head down"

that was a few weeks before my sister in law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She died on August 29th, two years ago.



I'll never forget Andy.

[EFerrari]

86. I'm so sorry, libnnc. I didn't know.

:hug:

[libnnc]

90. that was a really weird freaky summer

we're still not over it.

Andy gone and my SO's older sister gone in the same summer...from the same disease. Just insane.

[EFerrari]

91. I lost my best friend, my best teacher and Andy that year

to quick and terrible cancers. I'm still not over it either and am pretty sure it all played into my divorce a year later. Life is life.

:hug:

[Ellipsis]

88. ...

:hug:

[EFerrari]

94. Thank you, friend.

For all of us missing Andy today. :grouphug:

[johnaries]

95. We miss you, Andy. RIP.

K&R

[EFerrari]

96. A word about dear Termite.

I was in love with Andy and then, I "met" Termite.

He was so even and so gracious, so patient when Andy was demanding -- because he could be demanding in the way a very creative person can make demands on their family. Soft spoken, a sense of humor that would make a rock laugh out loud, a most capacious soul.

And Andy knew it, and appreciated it. He and Termite were more bonded than any couple I've ever met. I'm so happy they had that so rare thing. It was very beautiful.

To Termite. :toast:

[SeattleGirl]

99. Salute, Termite!

:toast:

[EFerrari]

97. kick

[SeattleGirl]

98. I hear you. I still miss him so much.

I had the opportunity to go to his memorial service here in Seattle, and it was wonderful. I met his wonderful mother, and Termite and Ballot too.

Andy, I miss you, and thank you for everything you did while you were with us. :hug:

[EFerrari]

100. I'm still trying to track down a tape of the service.

It will turn up eventually, but I'd really like to see it someday.

For Andy and Termite. :toast:

[SeattleGirl]

104. I have no idea who taped it, but I would like to see it again.

It was sweet, and funny, and sad, and had a touch of anger; all very appropriate emotions for our dear Andy.

And yes, to Andy and Termite (and Ballot, too). :toast:

[Synnical]

102. Tears again

Great person, and hopefully a great day. Andy would have enjoyed today and the Live Earth Concerts.

:)

[EFerrari]

103. All of that.

:toast:

[Kurovski]

107. Sfexpat2000, I must again say...

I love you.

R

[EFerrari]

108. Y yo te adoro.

Thank you. :hug:

[EFerrari]

110. "Because it seems to me

that there may never be
a better chance to see
who we are come timelessly dancing.

Sing my dreams to me."

We loved you, Andy, and we love you still. Thank you.




:toast:

[ConsAreLiars]

111. A "me too." I only met him a couple/three times.

He was honest and totally committed to doing the right thing to serve the greater good. He gave up a secure, comfortable, and easy life as a manager of some franchise operation (pizza maybe? I forget, it doesn't matter) to devote his (sadly few, as unknown to anyone) remaining months to fighting to restore democracy in the US. The pancreatic cancer that killed him would have done so, regardless, but he gave the last many months of his life serving democracy and the vision of a government "of, by, and for the people."

[EFerrari]

115. Andy was all about "the greater good" in the most artless way.

Maybe that's why we were so attracted to him. He had that altruistic DNA going on. :)

[GOPisEvil]

112. I'm in Washington again this year in July...

...I'd give anything to have met Andy, have a drink (or several) with him and just talk and laugh the night away.

If you ever track down the video of the memorial, let me know. That was such a neat event, I'd like to see it again.

[EFerrari]

113. I will.

:)

[Hawkeye-X]

114. I miss Andy. Even if we have never met

His infectious smile always brightened my days. I always will forever curse the name Beverly Harris as long as I live and she lives. If it wasn't for her, Andy would certainly be alive and joking with us.

I also miss Jeff. i have some of his PM's - his last one was a response to asking where I could pick up QuestionW mugs in New York City - he had em on his cafepress shop.

:cry:

I miss both terribly.

When is Kef's day of death? Anyone remember? I still miss him.

[EFerrari]

116. I was here too late to know Kef.

:hug:

[yewberry]

119. Yes, I remember.

Here's Khephra's mom's post about that day. Notice who was response #1--strange, huh?

DU lost a lot that year.

Take care, HawkeyeX.

[Decruiter]

125. Thank you HawkeyeX, for remembering Kef. I do believe he was DU's first loss.

Reading through all these threads about Andy made me look back a long way. Kef has been gone a long time.

I like to believe they are all still here guiding us and that they also have lots of laughs someplace, together.

Heck, they might even all have a special kind of DU. I bet they share some time with Molly and several others we'd all like to spend time with, you think?

[Mnemosyne]

121. ...

:hug:

For Andy!

[EFerrari]

122. For Andy and for DU.

:hug:

[Mnemosyne]

129. I'll hug to that -

:grouphug:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

126. In loving memory

I got to post to Andy just a few times before he passed away, and consider myself fortunate to have done so.

For his friends, his family and DU, may peace fill your souls as it does mine to see the outpouring of love for him.

:loveya: :grouphug:

[EFerrari]

128. (Thanks to all the DUers that posted pix of Andy. I didn't have any

that weren't on line. :loveya:)

[garybeck]

130. We will continue the fight, in your name

Andy we have not forgotten your hard work and how you helped get us to where we are today. We will continue to fight against these voting machine companies. And when we win, it will be in part because of your tenacity.

Andy fact you may not know...

he loved the movie "Planet of the Apes"






REST IN PEACE DEAR BROTHER