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Birthday Remembrance
By contributer Jim Berger and you
Michael Hart's birthday was earlier in the month. I have been summoning recollections over that period, but receiving none. A good measure of that dearth of response owes itself to unforeseen technical barriers. I regret the inconvenience. And yet by the same token, no one seems to be breaking down the doors to get the job done. It all argues for putting this effort into mothballs, at least until technical barriers are well resolved. I am convinced that Michael Hart continues to be important, if for no other reason than the intense spirit I felt right at his funeral. Michael was special. And the groundswell behind the man may well arise in some other sector, under other people's ministrations, but I have no doubt that a groundswell is coming in due time. And that groundswell will be unstoppable.I leave the remainder of the text for your perusal, as it was on March 8th, edited modestly for clarification.
What do you remember [about Michael Hart]?
Did you ever hear about the two buildings Michael disappeared in South Korea?
Or how about sitting out one of the riots during the 1968 Democratic Convention, with his girlfriend, atop a squad car?
If Michael's life was not charmed, it certainly was interesting.
I can testify to keeping the water up in his furnace in the dead of winter while Michael was out of town. Michael's home was storied—and rightly so, for Michael was an inveterate collector of all things remotely interesting. We played Frisbee golf, and once on Halloween, I savored an authentic, Star-Wars, light saber that lit up to perfection and made all the right noises.
But at Michael's funeral, it became clear that I knew but half of it—if that much.The dining room for lunch at the Eastland Suites Hotel & Conference Center was abuzz with fantastic stories and remembrances as we paused to break bread and personalize our grief with one another.
I had not known that Michael had been an Eagle Scout. There is still much we could all learn about the man, and so, that is the question: What do you remember?
This remembrance is headed to Facebook, which already has all the software for supporting a discussion. And it will continue running until Michael Hart finally receives the recognition that surely is his due.
If the annual book fair is revamped, it might be tied to that. Or kindly direct other suggestions to https://www.facebook.com/jim.berger.58/posts/10201731399663135 until such time a more durable setting has been established. Events on Facebook include a terminus date. Such a date remains to be determined, but as noted, I welcome your suggestions all the way around.
In that vein, I refer everyone to WILL - Focus - June 07, 2011 , which 33½ minutes into the audio file contains the last known phone call by Michael Hart to this particular radio, call-in program. Michael did not identify himself, but I recognized him, and we got together for lunch a short time thereafter. It would be good to locate other calls of Michael's from those audio files. It would be good to locate them all.
Who would join in such a search? That would require formally splitting up the task and zeroing in on topics about computers or about books. I'm good for up to three hours of listening for Hart clips, if anyone else will join me. Please consider that, and then let's get in touch. But for the moment, for Michael's birthday, what do you remember about Michael Hart?
This will extend beyond Michael's birthday until we get it right. It's time to celebrate an incredible man. Together we can get the whole picture of Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg.