New Scaratings
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Conn/HUNTER/MARLEY
http://www.scaratings.com/newScaratings/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=3294		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  AARDVK [ Sun Feb 26, 2017 2:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Conn/HUNTER/MARLEY
Last night many Houston trivia players attended an Irish wake for Connelly Wirth. A lot of us hadn't played trivia together or interacted other than through Facebook in years, so despite the sad occasion, we had a great time seeing each other. Stories were told and many "Conn Specials" (a Lone Star beer with a shot of Jameson) were drunk. It was definitely a party Conn would have loved.

I met Conn when he was a player at Catbirds in the early 200s; he later became a bartender there, and eventually made the migration to Mezzanine, where he was part of the team that won Smartest Bar two years in a row. In addition to trivia (both NTN/BT and live pub games), Conn loved music; he was always posting lyrics on his FB page for us to identify and complete. His second handle MARLEY was in honor of Bob Marley, whose songs he would do in karaoke. We shared an interest in the music of Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers, and also in Celtic songs, and because we both had ties to Illinois, we were fellow Cubs fans.

I hadn't seen him in person for a while, but we interacted regularly on Facebook, and although I know he was upset about the election, I didn't sense anything beyond what his other friends and I were going through. It was therefore a shock to learn a couple of weeks after the fact that on Thanksgiving day, at the age of 51, Conn walked out of his house leaving everything including his wallet and cell phone behind. He was declared a missing person, and a formal search was begun. At first I hoped that perhaps he just decided to make himself a totally new life, per these lyrics from Stan Rogers' "Northwest Passage":

How then am I so different
From the first men through this way?
Like them, I left a settled life
I threw it all away.

But his body was eventually discovered and identified, and "threw it all away" took on a much sadder meaning.

We are still trying to understand why someone with so many friends and family, and so much passion for things in life, could voluntarily take leave of all of it. I hope wherever Conn is now, he has finally found his own Northwest Passage, but we wish he'd just stayed with us.

Brooke/AARDVK/KRIEM/LGLPRO/SFPRO
Author:  ANON [ Sun Feb 26, 2017 3:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Conn/HUNTER/MARLEY
Sincerest Condolences, Brooke, to you and to all of his family and friends.

I occasionally play Stan Rogers' version of "White Collar Holler" for my modern U.S. History classes. The final words of that song go

"Some day I'm going to give up all the buttons and things
I'll punch that time clock 'til it can't ring
Burn up my necktie and set myself free
'Cause no one's going to bend, fold, or mutilate me."

I'll think of him the next time I hear it.
Author:  ranger [ Sun Feb 26, 2017 11:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Conn/HUNTER/MARLEY
He sounds like a great guy. Sorry for your loss Brooke.
Author:  scar [ Wed Mar 01, 2017 12:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Conn/HUNTER/MARLEY
Why this is just awful. I saw Hunter on the boards a lot back in the day.

Hunter was a member of the original Scaratings bulletin board, but never made to this version.

He visited the old TGIF Louisville once, and we played together for many hours, having drinks, high scores and a great time.

I've always had very fond memories of that night.

Wish it weren't so, and sorry to our friends in Houston.
Author:  GONE D [ Wed Mar 01, 2017 11:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Conn/HUNTER/MARLEY
That was a very touching post, Brooke. Thank you for permitting me to share your bereavement.
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