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Apparently he'd not felt well last Wednesday and Dianne went with him to the hospital. The doctor decided they wouldn't give him any more chemo as it had really knocked him down.
He had been having trouble breathing and yesterday, apparently, a blood clot went to his lungs. Dianne got a call to come but he was gone before she was able to get there. She called me at about 2 last night.
She asked that no one call or send e-mails as she's just too shocked to communicate with anyone except who she has to.
The crappy thing is that he and his family were going to get together, they were preparing a room for Dianne and him. I don't know what the future holds for her, I promised I'd call in a day or two, but again I urge you not to call right now.
We're all going to miss him; I figure I'll now have someone to yell at me instead of me being accused of talking to myself...it'll be Bruce.
Sorry about ruining your day but I know you all would want to know. He's having drinks with Bob as I write this, the two nutcases!
Semper Fi, Bruce.
There is no such thing as too many records.
There is just too little room for them!
Follow Ups:
i knew bruce through Fritz Heiler of Fritzspeaks, we lived relatively close, i in Sylmar CA and he in Lancaster CA. i went to his house once and we had a great time playing some of his music and some of mine.
we both attended a Stereophile Show at an LAX hotel. i had cruised down to the lobby bar where JA of Stereophile spotted me wearing my hologram eyeball glasses that i had gotten at Frys a few years before (i made that my avatar). he called out "hey! hifitommy!" i sat down with him and Wes Phillips and we jawed for a while. Wes offered me a free ticket to see Dr. John who was playing at the show and for which i had already paid my $50 to see him. i demurred but asked if i could get my friend in with us (BWK) and he said sure.
i called Bruce on my cell phone and he came right to the bar where we were and after JA and WP bought us a round of beers, he offered up the ticket to Bruce who of course accepted. to say that the performance was excellent is beside the ppoint. a great time was had by all.
on the website, someone immortalized the moment with a photo of us all there quaffing our beers and chewing the fat.
in phone calls with BWK, i could tell he was suffering even though he put up a good act. he passed before we could get back together and he is quite missed.
...regards...tr
I had not checked here in a bit, and was not ware.
Bruce is in my friend's email list, and I had just sent a mass email out which some of you will received.
Dianne replied, moved, and I am feeling very emotional from her words.
It's no solace, but at the email contained beautiful music. Seems fitting that it did, but I am grasping.
I will not get to challange his "anything but Christmas music" disclaimer, so much for this mouse's plan.
Hiram.
I never met Bruce in person, but I did have some contact with him online through Audio Asylum. I'd like to share the story of that, because I think it gives some insight into the kind of person he was.
Back in 2006, I had considered making a transition from salaried employment to being a contract worker or "job shopper". I didn't have any experience with that, so I wasn't sure how to proceed. On a whim, one evening I posted on Outside Asylum asking some questions about it: such things such as whether to avoid the "job shops", what kind of salaries could be expected due to the decrease in overhead of the hiring company and other concerns.
The next day, I checked my email and found there was a correspondence from Bruce. Now, I didn't know Bruce at all, so this surprised me a bit. He had apparently done the same thing himself, in the IT business as I recall, and shared many of his experiences. This email was quite long and detailed, giving all kinds of helpful advice and information about the subject. I was really grateful for the help he provided.
Also, it just so happened that my preamp had died a few days earlier, and I had decided on a particular replacement. The only trouble was, the local dealer for this brand in my area, who have since gone out of business, happened to be a bunch of jerks. I noticed in the sig of Bruce's email that he was also a dealer for this brand. I wrote him back, thanking him for his advice about job-shopping, and also told him about my situation with the preamp. I basically said I couldn't stand the local dealer, and because he had helped me out, I wanted to give him my business instead. He determined the supplier didn't have clauses restricting online vendors from shipping components to people in areas covered by a local dealer, so that was fine.
I asked him how much he charged for it, and he came back with a price that was lower than the online discount house that sells the brand. I was amazed at this and immediately told him he had a deal. He wasn't able to process credit cards, so I had to send him a check. Now, he knew my system was down, so what did he do? He had the preamp shipped to me before he even received my check. How often does that happen in this day and age?
A couple of months later, I got an email from him. Being the cynic I am, I figured it might be a sales-oriented thing. I was somewhat taken aback when I read it. "How does the preamp sound?", he was asking. "Are you happy with it?"
The preamp has been great and is still going strong. Last night, I listened to the system for the first time after hearing the news about Bruce. I thought about that experience when I was listening. Then today, I decided to write this. I hope this says something about the kind of guy he was, and that I didn't bore you with my rambling.
a perfect example.
Thank you.
It makes me wish that I knew him better. I hate when we lose nice people.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
We did CES as often as we could together. Seems like I always came home with a CD player, preamp, Beatles LP, interconnects, or whatever that he wanted to give me, lend me, or wanted my opinion on. He was generous to a fault, but then, generosity isn't really a fault, it was one of his qualities.
pursue, simply because we had spent a lot of time discussing and doing the research on racks, ceramic fuses, and DIY power cords, among other things.
I was excited, he was excited, and we both knew we were in a bit of a race. I wanted to get the rack designed and shipped to him so he could have some time using what I think is a "turntable friendly" support. One of the few perks he had at his job was getting things shipped.
Bruce was obviously ill, but he's an audiophile and music lover. "HIS" Beatles had to be reproduced in the very best manner. I had sent him a lot of Jazz LP transfers and he was getting into Jazz more deeply than he'd ever done before...hell, he got ME listening to Beatles again!
Sharing is as much a part of Bruce as simply breathing is to most folks. He had discovered how great LPs are, was listening to his Beatles LPs (the few he had left) and some hacked ones I'd sent him, plus more LP to CD transfers of mono Beatles I own. He was thrilled with having a turntable again.
He took care of his customers, he took care of his friends. It was dangerous to say, "I really need..." because the next thing you knew there were ICs or speaker cables, or power cords or (not so simply) answers to your questions and needs.
The audiophile Bruce was no different from the friend. His laugh rings in your ears because he sees so much humor in so many places others wouldn't. The two of us laughed throughout the last 5 years +/- at the stupid things that happen to you when you're ill. Mistreatment by doctors, mistreatment by life and we laughed at things like me avoiding the fact that congestive heart failure IS, not was; that to climb steps with tubes going in and out of your body may not be the best idea; checkout counters are one of the greatest sources of fun.
He'd call while shopping and I'd listen to the checkout clerks doing and saying some incredibly odd things..."Did you want both of these?"
"Those belong to the lady behind me."
"You don't want them then?"
That was not a rare circumstance.
Working while suffering from pain and fatigue...most would have been in bed. Driving home after dealing with the crap he had at work he'd call and I'd tell him, after he was done bitching about being in traffic for hours, "I was in a horrid traffic jam at the top of my street! There were 5 cars in front of me! I had to wait for well over a minute before I could turn onto Warm Spring!"
That drove him nuts.
He'd drive those roads to take care of a customer. I remember him pulling his preamp out of his own system so one would have a working preamp for a get-together the guy was having. Driving two hours to take gear to a guy who'd mistreated his gear repeatedly.
Well, he'd better not try to connect his preamp incorrectly again...Bruce is not going to bother taking care of his stupidity.
There is no such thing as too many records.
There is just too little room for them!
A couple days ("days"? Hell, more like "hours"...) after hearing about this Bruce called, and after lovingly chewing me out for doing such a "phuqing stoopid thing", what did he do? I never told anyone about this, but he sent me "loaner" gear....no strings attached. (Can you imagine?) And he'd never take any form of repayment, but from that moment on, each and every Beatles LP I ever ran across "mysteriously" appeared at his place....And you're absolutely right. As I mentioned in my email to you yesterday, I can still hear his laugh in my head, a laugh that was infectious...and will be missed.
I wish I had time to tell more Bruce stories, but since I have to hit the road soon, maybe we best save them for Ribfest.
Jim
Edits: 04/07/10
Never got the chance to meet him but, like many of you, I feel as if I've known him forever. Central is like that!
Who'd a thunk that the Marines have formed a battalion in Bruce's honor.
Semper fi, BWK, we'll miss you but not forget you! There will surely be some extra toasts at Ribfest this year.
Bill's Audio Cave
These are times when words fail. I'll just echo what so many others have said. He will be missed in so many ways.
......I hope We'll Meat Again.
Regards,
Mike
Will miss his posts.
nt
all the best,
mrh
Rest in peace, Bruce. I have enjoyed sharing the squirrel posts with our 5-year old grandson. Deepest condolences to Diane and family, and all others here.
Douger
Bruce, I'll miss you bud. Your humor, wit, and shared love of music. I always thought we'd get a chance to meet, being both in SoCal. In another time and place.
Very sad news.
___
Jeff TOJ
I like it. I like it a lot.
I only met Bruce twice, back in 2004, and have been "out of the AA loop" for the most part recently. I knew he had cancer a couple of years back, but did not realize that his situation had gotten worse in recent months. I always enjoyed his postings - clever, well-written and witty - and always got the impression that he was a thoughtful and thoroughly decent guy. Sorry to learn that he's gone; he will be missed by many.
"Music is the medicine of a troubled mind." -- Walter Haddon, 1567
you could always count on his posts being witty and intelligent. I greatly appreciated them
Last time I talked to Mr. Kendall he had assumed some alter-personality over another audio site - he tried hard sometimes not to be too nice a guy but I quess it was in his nature.
Surely when I pass most of you guys will already be dead but if there's any of you left I'm sure you'll try your best to get the stab in you've failed miserably to do while I've been around.
RIP BKENDALL
The post I really didn't want to see. I've been thinking about Bruce a lot lately, as we all have. The forums haven't been the same for quite a while without his contributions. He was a great guy and a friend to many of us here. What a loss. Don't really know what to say but I'm really sorry he's gone.
Best thoughts to Diane, Mike. And to you, for being there, close for him. Thanks for taking care of him till the end. dang.
I hope that you will express condolecens in our name.
I was just looking at some of Bruce's recent posts, and came across a response he made to one of my mine over on WC a couple of weeks ago. I had not seen until now, or I would have thanked him. I had not realized that he was a Marine until today.
I'm pretty choked up by this. Think I'll go back and look for a humorous post of his that will cheer me up!
___
"If you are the owner of a new stereophonic system, this record will play with even more brilliant true-to-life fidelity. In short, you can purchase this record with no fear of its becoming obsolete in the future."
...sad to have never met him.
Peace.
I really liked Bruce, he was tied for second for being my earliest Asylumite acquaintance.
He had a great take on life and I honestly hope, somehow, his spirit lives on.
Via con tubos, amigo.
Hi Anton,
About ten days ago I mailed to Bruce a few CDs I had picked up at CES/THE Show, including the one you and Mike were giving away (nice disc, by the way--thank you!). I included a brief note but don't know if he saw them. I suppose in a few weeks I'll call and speak with Diane, once the profound shock has worn off a little. Anyway, Bruce always spoke very highly of you and really wanted to attend the show this year; alas, I received a phone call from Rob (Grover) while at the show saying it wasn't to be. Gosh, I'm sure it crushed him not being there and joining us at Big Dog's Saturday night.
Let's raise a glass to Bruce. What a cool dude. What a buddy. What a trooper.
Brian Walsh
Sometimes, sadness kind of builds.
My wife says I'm emotionally 'delayed.'
;)
Cheers, man.
The best description I can think of is that I have to "process" things overnight....
Jim
Hope has been replaced with anger.......
ET
Question "Authority", the mainstream media sucks - Go Independent and hold BOTH parties accountable instead of just the other guys!
I enjoyed his posts, his wit and literary style.........hopefully his "real" family can know about his following here and how much he was admired.
I never met the man, never talked to him on the phone.
Sometimes I'm in awe of how powerful the written word is, how much you can feel you know someone, I mean really know them, when they share their thoughts the way Bruce did here.
I guess it comes down to how much love there was for Bruce here at Central. I could always feel it in the way so many of you responded to Bruce's posts.
My condolences to his wife, his family, and to each and every one of you who loved him.
I’m deeply saddened to learn of Bruce passing. He was a mate.
This last hour I have had a knot in the pit of my stomach and had tears in my eyes.
I loved Bruce’s humour and his laid-back outlook on life.
I spoke with Bruce a little while back and he was super-positive about the future but a little frustrated his energy levels were so low. I could tell in his voice it was tiring for him to carry on the conversation but still 20 minutes flew by. We had some laughs, though I think I was doing most of the chuckling.
I usually referred to Bruce as BWK both in emails and on AA. A few years back I sent him the BWK avatar he used on here for his signature line. In return Bruce used to send me dozens of Stereophile & other magazines. (Yeah shipped from Palmdale to Australia ~ Bruce was a generous soul)
This is indeed a sad day and after shedding a few tears I am proud to say I have a broad smile on my dial while writing this & recounting my conversations and communications with Bruce.
Bruce made people smile and laugh. The world will be a little duller without him.
Rest in peace my friend, I will miss you.
Smile
Sox
to family and friends.
He appears to have been able to take the foolishness here in good stride judging from his posts. He will be missed.
A genuinely great guy - definitely made some of my downest days brighter. He will be missed.
-----------
It's not I'm anti-social,
I'm only anti-work,
Glory Osky, that's why I'm a jerk!
I only found out within the last hour and am surprised to find myself quite still - almost at peace. I am quite surprised by this, I was not expecting that.
Bruce was iconic of what Inmate Central has been for me, an important safe place. Bruce will continue to be present here.
We can sustain that.
Warmest
Timothy Bailey
The Skyptical Mensurer and Audio Scrounger
And gladly would he learn and gladly teach - Chaucer. ;-)!
'Still not saluting.'
http://www.theanalogdept.com/tim_bailey.htm
...I knew he wasn't long for this world, but that's a damn shame.
What a great guy.
He'll be missed.
I guess partly because I've been just wanting to pick up the phone & call these last few days but since I haven't seen any posts from Bruce, I decided to wait.
from Ribfest 2004.
For some reason, I can't post images from my gallery. But here's the link. Hopefully you can get there. First photo - top left.
For those not in the know, Driver is on the Left and Bruce is on the right.
http://gallery.audioasylum.com/cgi/view.mpl?UserImages=9449
Can I get the link to this? I went through your pics but only came up w/a little bitty image. I want to get a photograph made.
Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn.
Rest In Peace Bruce.
Our most sincere condolences to Diane and the menagerie in Palmdale.
jac, janita & The FBB
-------------------
jac - desperaudio
If you're looking for the shirt pictured in my post, email me. It's $16.99 plus $3.50 s&h.
Brian Walsh
But I plan to get one of these to wear at Ribfest in tribute.
Here's to you, Bruce, ya big nut!
Brian Walsh
Jim
He was very kind to me in a couple of emails from the other side of the world.I feel very sad at this. He made me laugh. A lot.
Edits: 04/06/10
The World is worse off with the lost of such a nice guy. And though I never met him in person, he always made me feel comfortable on these boards. Self effacing to a fault. Warm & humorous. I feel lucky to have met him here.Semper Fi!
Edits: 04/06/10
but no surprise. He endured a great deal and, hopefully, may now rest in peace.
Bruce - we will miss you sorely.
Diane - Love and hugs!!
"Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain
and a fine human being. I will miss him.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
Edits: 04/06/10
I will miss reading your post here dearly Mr. Kendall.
Condolence and prayers to your family.
Abe
DIY, all the time!
to what has already been expressed. I didn't know him that well, but his absence will be felt for some time. On the bright side, the physical ordeal he's had to put up with for so long is over. Condolences to Dianne and family. May you have the strength to get through these dark times and come to celebrate the time Bruce was with you (and us).
Neil
Unlike Bruce, I to am at a total loss for words. He was one of the really good guy's. It seemed that anytime life had thrown me a curve, I would see one of his posts, usually about some funny observance of life that would bring me back to reality and put a smile on my face. Well now that smile is replaced with a frown and tears for the memory of a strong and unique man. The world is a little colder now, but heaven is aglow with his warmth and beautiful sense of humor.
Goodbye friend I have to go and feed the squirrels, and drink a toast to a great and wonderful man.
I never met Bruce in person, or even talked to him by phone. My communications were limited to one email exchange and, of course, the many discourses here on Central and, occassionaly, on the WC. But I always felt honored when he'd respond to one of my posts, and I will always remember his briliantly touching and hilarious posts. Even my wife, who has never posted on AA, knew about Bruce from my relating some of his "essays" to her. When he posted only a few weeks back about his condition, I told my wife and she said, "Oh, no. Bruce has cancer?" I had no idea he was then so close to passing on.
Bruce, although you were surely aware of your popularity on AA, you may not have realized just how broad an audience and fan base you had. Rest in peace and enjoy the next stage of your journey!
___
"If you are the owner of a new stereophonic system, this record will play with even more brilliant true-to-life fidelity. In short, you can purchase this record with no fear of its becoming obsolete in the future."
I'm stunned. I really don't know what to say, but... Oddly I feel almost the same about Bruce's passing as I do about my own brother.
Sending lots of love to you and all his friends, and of course Diane.
He was a great, wonderful human being and the world is a little darker without him. Goodbye, friend.
Godspeed, Bruce. Condolences to Diane and the family.
Brian Walsh
Mike,If you get details on his funeral and it is OK with Diane,
please post them or send them to me via email. I would like to
send some flowers/condolences if possible.And please pass along our condolences to Diane when you speak with
her. Bruce will be missed....
Edits: 04/06/10
I didn't know him either except from posts here. He seemed like a super guy. I wish his family all the best!
Brian
He faced his condition with courage and grace.
We will all carry-on, somehow, but things will never be quite the same without you around.
You were loved, and will be sorely missed.
(Thanks, Mike)
Jim
Prayers of peace and good vibes follow him on this next part of his journey, where I know he'll bring his good heart and fine humor to enrich other's being.
Prayers and good vibes to Diane and Bruce's good friends and family as well, who where there for him and with him.
He leaves a vibrant aura.
" Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination." -Michael McClure
My sympathies go to Dianne...
Bill.
It also brings the total of cancer-related 'acquaintance-departures' in the last 2 years to 5...
Bruce will be sorely missed by all of us - his slightly whacky sense of humour coupled with his always-excellent written communication skills, made his posts worth hunting for. The gradual drop-off in his posting frequency has been a loss... And now this news...
Mikee, thank you for letting us know and also thank you for caring enough to warn against needless communication (for now anyway) with Diane, who must be shattered. When and if you do speak to her next, please pass along condolences from Darkest Africa and tell her that all of us will be with her in spirit.
A very subdued and saddened...
DevillEars
My deepest condolences to his family.
Jack
Seemed like one of the good guys. My condolences to his family. Peace, Bruce.
dfs
he was in good spirit - We laughed a bit. Sad day! :(
your wit and inspiration will be personally be missed
now spank those squirell's
I am so sorry to hear that.
I didn't know he was sick, he never sounded like it in his posts.
He always seemed like a nice guy, it is a shame he is gone, my condolences to his family and those who knew him personally..
Best regards,
Tom Danley
We will miss your humor, and your unique way of seeing the world. We will miss your friendship. We will miss you.
Fare thee well.
Thats a shocker. I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't know him well but he would always give me a good brawl on the WC. Tubeophiles are a minority group and anytime we lose one its a major loss.
If the power supply waveform isn't pretty,neither is the sound in most cases.
I never met Bruce in "the real world" - just here. But he was always such a gentleman. I loved his wit, humor and general outlook on life. I wish I had met the man.
Peace and comfort to all who knew him - whether in the real world or only here.
rlindsa
I'm at a loss for what to say.
It's appropriate that you, Mike, were the one to let us know here.
Our lives will be lesser with Bruce not here, but we're definitely all richer for having known him, whether in person, or through his communications.
He is/was a good soul and I'll miss his friendship and the good times.
Give my heartfelt condolences to Diane if you talk to her.
Wow, I am really sorry to hear this! I really enjoyed his posts and especially his positive attitude during all he was going through. He was an inspiration to me as I am going through some health issues also and its very easy to fill sorry for one's self. He showed me not to!
He will be missed :(
first time I have seen it in months. Looking for a handful of the peanuts I keep for visiting hours.....I think it came to tell me this sad news, it had in it's eye a tear.
Bruce was an inspirational fellow. I cannot say that about many people...
Have a wonderful journey Bruce, the adventure has just begun.
I am new to Central, so didn't know Bruce the way most of you all do. But, I could tell from his posts and your great affection for him that he was a very special person.
My condolences to all who knew him.
Regards,
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom : Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it
I'll miss his tall tales.
Bruce was one of the good guys with tons of optimism. I had hoped and prayed he would survive the cancer. He will be missed. God speed Bruce
I was only familiar with his thoughts on here, no doubt a small fraction of the total person. This place will be less without him.
Baba-Booey to you all!
I hope everyone involved will find a way to deal with this.
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
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