[Loose Cannons] Bye Don...

It's tough writing this week's column.

Three Cannons have been sitting here, drinking single malt for the past four hours. Drunker than skunks doesn't begin to describe it.

See, we all lost a friend on Saturday.

Don Crabb, nationally known educator, writer, broadcaster, and, best known to most of us, Mac columnist, passed away on Saturday. Don collapsed on his wedding day last December 3rd. He had survived septic shock and pancreatitis, and also had surgery related to his condition.

It was only the previous week that most casual Mac observers had noticed the MacWEEK story about Don's illness. We had known about it for a while but had been told by friends close to him in January that, while he was seriously ill, he was expected to make a full, if slow, recovery.

It wasn't to be.

We had read Don for many years before we began corresponding with him. We asked Don how he could be so prolific. Don wrote for dozens of publications and his columns filled many inches both in print and on the Net.

He replied, "I just do. I have to. I have so much to say and not enough friends who want to listen."

The response was so typical of Don. Short, to the point, completely honest and exactly how he felt. Regardless of whether or not you agreed with Crabb (and we disagreed with him often. The last time was about 6 slot PCI Macs. Don joked, "I bet Jobs is holding on to them until after I'm gone!" Steve, don't you *dare* release a 6 slot PCI machine now. Don will haunt the halls of Cupertino for generations to come if you do!) you always got exactly what he felt. There was never any artifice with Crabb. He told it as he saw it and anyone else's (especially Apple's) feelings be damned.

The other thing that amazed us was that he wrote in many different styles and from many viewpoints. Whether it was his too-cutesy "Daily Crustacean", his serious Mac Manager for MacWEEK and later MacCentral or his bang on product reviews, it sounded like there were dozens of different writers inside Don all trying to get out. Maybe that's why he wrote so often.

But, in the end, they were all Don.

Don loved good food, good booze, good products and good times. But, more importantly, Don loved good people. If Don liked you, he'd give you the shirt off his back. MacCentral has some quotes with some of them. Our Glorious Leader had the opportunity to sit down with a bunch of people, Don included, at Macworld Expo a few years back.

Were were in some hotel bar, telling war stories. Don was the center of attention, directing people, ordering drinks, making sure everyone was involved in the conversation. As the hour got late, the mood mellowed and the crowd around the table dwindled.

As it will always happen, the talk came around to what Apple was doing well and what was going wrong. Don sat and listened patiently to our arguments for and against various aspects. We were new to the game and didn't know enough to not argue with Don.

As we sat there, we realized that Don was being very patient with us, questioning our reasons and giving us inside dirt showing us where we were wrong. He didn't have to do it. He could have written us off as young pups, full of piss and vinegar (and too good Scotch wasted on us) and left the table.

But he didn't. He sat and chatted amiably. We felt special. We felt like we were part of Don's Inner Circle. When we talked about the evening to someone from MacUser magazine the next day, they laughed and said, "Don does that with everyone. No offense but you're not that special."

As we learned more about Don and met him at other events, we realized the MacUser columnist was wrong. Everyone was special to Don. Everyone had value to Don and everyone was of interest. While he didn't suffer fools gladly, you had to prove yourself a fool first. Don respected you enough to give you that.

Maybe because it hasn't happen that much in the Macintosh community, it hits us twice as hard when we lose someone. And when you had every faith that the person would recover, it makes it worse when they don't.

But when you are friends with someone, when you know that the person was genuinely good, kind and generous and when that person communicated honestly and from the heart in everything he did, it's hard to understand why it happened.

Maybe God needed a good Mac Guy. Well, he just got the best.

Bye Don.

cannons@applelinks.com

July 05, 2009