I heard of Greg's passing on another forum last night. Very sad news, very sad. He was a good man, and a good friend to me over the past 15 years or so.
I never met Greg in person, but we were friends by phone and email. We had a link in the 70's, we both worked in the same small rural place in the 70's, him as a dynamite man for the Exshaw concrete plant & quarry, me as a horse wrangler for the Rafter Six dude ranch and camp counselor for YMCA Camp Chief Hector across the Bow Valley from Exshaw, where he lived for several years. We never formally met, but we both used to drink beer in the Exshaw Legion, so I'm sure we knew each other, at least as nodding acquaintances.
Many years later on the 24HCF we figured that connection out and enjoyed some common reminiscences. We often PM'd for a while there, while I was trying to blow up my Ruger Blackhawk 45's in pursuit of the Ultimate Loudenboomer Pistol Load. It would be a kindness to say he tried to talk me out of my worst excesses, but that would be a lie... he was an enabling sonofagun when it came to heavy loads. I'd call him and tell him of my results, and he'd laugh and tell me to try a couple more grains H110. (He was joking, and knew I knew it... he would never intentionally encourage suicide!)
At one point, as I was launching bigger and heavier particles skyward, we began talking cannons... and that was a topic Greg had more than passing familiarity with. We came down to nearly buying a cannon together... not a mini, but a full size Napoleon he'd found out about but needed a partner to purchase. Problem was we both had room in our garages for it, and we never could resolve the issue of where it would live.
But he did get me into a smaller cannon, one day. Ken Howell was looking for some cash, and had a beautiful reproduction Napoleon the Greg was preparing to auction off on the 'Fire. I called him and asked him how much Ken was looking to get for it, he told me, and I sent him a check for that amount plus a few bucks more. It fires a round ball of 12-gauge diameter.
Tonight I'll fire the little big cannon off at sunset in memory of both our departed friends, Greg, and Ken. Vaya con Dios, hermano mio.
