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An Open Letter Regarding AK Member Sparky RIP

I didn't know him, and to my knowledge, did not have any correspondence with Sparky. I think for me, on a deeper level, it should awaken the fact to us all that we are all mortal and our time is either near or far. Either way, enjoy what time we have. Moreso, it exemplifies for me that audiophiles, of every stripe, should embrace their hobby even more, since we are not nearly as plentiful as we might think and when we are gone there are even fewer.

I don't know where this hobby will be in 10 years, even longer, and I sure hope I am around to see it but I think bickering about semantics that seems so common on this board always seems to take a back seat to how we can get more "converts" to our cause. After all, if no one is listening, what does it all really matter anyway?
 
Thank you for your wise and eloquent words Mr. Pig.
Thank you for the kindness to check on an old friend PIO1980.
You both made my world a better place.

RIP old Sparky.
 
There are some really great people on this forum. The post and the detective work are humbling to me. Thanks to both of you. RIP Sparky.
 
For everyone who has taken time to respond to this post, I want to thank you as I am sure PIO1980 would also. The words typed here of course are not for Sparky, as he moved onto that next plane of existence.....whatever that may be. I have my personal beliefs as I am sure others do.

But the words in the responses are important never the less, because it should give us cause to evaluate how we treat other AK members and the people we come into contact in our daily life. Remember what you think now, what you would say to Sparky if he were still with us.....and treat the others you meet tomorrow and beyond the same way. Treat them like you would treat Sparky knowing his time was short. For that is what is truly important in life, how we conduct ourselves and how we treat others. Live a life that honors the gift we have of time on this planet.

Once again, thanks to all who make the effort to make AK and our world a better place.
Regards
Mister Pig
 
Mister Pig said:
For everyone who has taken time to respond to this post, I want to thank you as I am sure PIO1980 would also. The words typed here of course are not for Sparky, as he moved onto that next plane of existence.....whatever that may be. I have my personal beliefs as I am sure others do.

But the words in the responses are important never the less, because it should give us cause to evaluate how we treat other AK members and the people we come into contact in our daily life. Remember what you think now, what you would say to Sparky if he were still with us.....and treat the others you meet tomorrow and beyond the same way. Treat them like you would treat Sparky knowing his time was short. For that is what is truly important in life, how we conduct ourselves and how we treat others. Live a life that honors the gift we have of time on this planet.

Once again, thanks to all who make the effort to make AK and our world a better place.
Regards
Mister Pig
Click to expand...

Outstanding!

Rome
 
Mister Pig said:
For everyone who has taken time to respond to this post, I want to thank you as I am sure PIO1980 would also. The words typed here of course are not for Sparky, as he moved onto that next plane of existence.....whatever that may be. I have my personal beliefs as I am sure others do.

But the words in the responses are important never the less, because it should give us cause to evaluate how we treat other AK members and the people we come into contact in our daily life. Remember what you think now, what you would say to Sparky if he were still with us.....and treat the others you meet tomorrow and beyond the same way. Treat them like you would treat Sparky knowing his time was short. For that is what is truly important in life, how we conduct ourselves and how we treat others. Live a life that honors the gift we have of time on this planet.

Once again, thanks to all who make the effort to make AK and our world a better place.
Regards
Mister Pig
Click to expand...

THIS is truth. Well spoken, sir.
 
As a new member of this forum one of the pleasures is reading messages that can express my feelings more eloquently than I could myself.

Thanks MisterPig
 
Mister Pig said:
For everyone who has taken time to respond to this post, I want to thank you as I am sure PIO1980 would also. The words typed here of course are not for Sparky, as he moved onto that next plane of existence.....whatever that may be. I have my personal beliefs as I am sure others do.

But the words in the responses are important never the less, because it should give us cause to evaluate how we treat other AK members and the people we come into contact in our daily life. Remember what you think now, what you would say to Sparky if he were still with us.....and treat the others you meet tomorrow and beyond the same way. Treat them like you would treat Sparky knowing his time was short. For that is what is truly important in life, how we conduct ourselves and how we treat others. Live a life that honors the gift we have of time on this planet.

Once again, thanks to all who make the effort to make AK and our world a better place.
Regards
Mister Pig
Click to expand...

Amen!
 
Mister Pig said:
earlier this year AK member Sparky became silent on this board and other audio forums. Due to the diligent efforts of PIO1980 it was determined that Sparky left this spinning blue orb in May of this year.

Now Sparky was a polarizing person, with a huge love of audio that was very narrow in scope. He did rub a lot of AK'ers the wrong way, but I think his heart was in the right place in regards to the advice he gave. His goal was to brings others down the pathway of superior analog play back, and in his mind there was the right way to do things and then compromise. Now not everyone agreed with Sparky, and that certainly was understandable. But I think his passion was unquestioned. For those that are left, I think Sparky gave us an example of what audio can mean. For it clearly brought him great joy and satisfaction to listen to music and participate in this hobby, and he did it with all his might. For myself I hope to enjoy this hobby for as many years as I have left at the kind of level Sparky did.

Now there is a lesson to be learned from Sparky also. Ole Spark did not have the best of people skills, and to be honest, many people did not like him. As we pass through this world, all our possessions are borrowed, and when we finally do leave...everything stays here. Now for the common person, our legacy is not establishing financial institutions and companies, writing legislative law, or creating memorable works of art such as books, music, or art. For the regular person all we leave in this world is how we treat our fellow man, and how we interact with them. A small act of kindness or encouraging word can leave a lasting impression that we could not possibly have predicted. On this board, and in other arenas of net life, many of us....me included....behave in a way that is really nothing to be proud of. I have seen members leave, get angry, cough cough...get banned, and perhaps even behave poorly in their day to day lives because of what has been said on this and other boards. Some would say grow a thicker skin, and hey its a rough world. Well why should we try not to learn from the life of Sparky and temper our words with a bit of kindness, patience, and empathy? Make our interactions with friends and acquaintances, heck our fellow man a thing to be proud of. To help others with a kind word, which in reality costs us nothing but a bit of effort.

Well Sparky, I hope your stylus stay clean and your records flat and true. I guess his last experiment will never be played out to the end. It was good to meet your acquaintance, even though it was a very short one.

Regards
Mister Pig
Click to expand...

I just discoverd this "Open Letter" Mr Pig and I would like to tell you, Sir, that I am gratefully deeply impressed. Postings like these make AudioKarma to one of the most precious places in the world wide web.
 
HarmanKardon said:
I just discoverd this "Open Letter" Mr Pig and I would like to tell you, Sir, that I am gratefully deeply impressed. Postings like these make AudioKarma to one of the most precious places in the world wide web.
Click to expand...

Very well spoken:thmbsp:

R.I.P.Sparky

If we all did something nice, just once a day for some one it would make this world a better place..lets lead by example ..:yes:
 
Mister Pig said:
earlier this year AK member Sparky became silent on this board and other audio forums. Due to the diligent efforts of PIO1980 it was determined that Sparky left this spinning blue orb in May of this year.

Now Sparky was a polarizing person, with a huge love of audio that was very narrow in scope. He did rub a lot of AK'ers the wrong way, but I think his heart was in the right place in regards to the advice he gave. His goal was to brings others down the pathway of superior analog play back, and in his mind there was the right way to do things and then compromise. Now not everyone agreed with Sparky, and that certainly was understandable. But I think his passion was unquestioned. For those that are left, I think Sparky gave us an example of what audio can mean. For it clearly brought him great joy and satisfaction to listen to music and participate in this hobby, and he did it with all his might. For myself I hope to enjoy this hobby for as many years as I have left at the kind of level Sparky did.

Now there is a lesson to be learned from Sparky also. Ole Spark did not have the best of people skills, and to be honest, many people did not like him. As we pass through this world, all our possessions are borrowed, and when we finally do leave...everything stays here. Now for the common person, our legacy is not establishing financial institutions and companies, writing legislative law, or creating memorable works of art such as books, music, or art. For the regular person all we leave in this world is how we treat our fellow man, and how we interact with them. A small act of kindness or encouraging word can leave a lasting impression that we could not possibly have predicted. On this board, and in other arenas of net life, many of us....me included....behave in a way that is really nothing to be proud of. I have seen members leave, get angry, cough cough...get banned, and perhaps even behave poorly in their day to day lives because of what has been said on this and other boards. Some would say grow a thicker skin, and hey its a rough world. Well why should we try not to learn from the life of Sparky and temper our words with a bit of kindness, patience, and empathy? Make our interactions with friends and acquaintances, heck our fellow man a thing to be proud of. To help others with a kind word, which in reality costs us nothing but a bit of effort.

Well Sparky, I hope your stylus stay clean and your records flat and true. I guess his last experiment will never be played out to the end. It was good to meet your acquaintance, even though it was a very short one.

Regards
Mister Pig
Click to expand...

Nicely put! :thmbsp:
 
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