Damn.

Already on it. I've managed to improve my workout schedule from once a week to three a week. Continuing to try to keep myself as healthy as I can.

"If I'd known I was going to live this long, I probably would make the same bad choices I did." -Me.

Cheer up, I'm still here, roto-rootered ticker and removed gangrenous toe notwithstanding!

Glad to hear you're still with us! We're holding a chair for you in the RooCam chatroom!

nnooooo not bunnyman. hed been doing better last i heard.

I knew Teral. They're still watching.

Advice taken - I hope to be here for a while!

I'm holding onto as much of old furry as i can, i was there for it but also wasn't- long story. The stories are so important and what old guard furries share and shared is something we, the current guard, need to find for ourselves before its lost in the zootopia fandom or whatever it is the zoomers are doing to furry on tiktok.

It keeps getting worse. I had something of a meltdown when I heard we lost  rjbartrop as well.
Last year was absolutely BRUTAL.


Excellent advice. You'll be pleased to know I'm working on it best I can. Will pass it along too.

We lost  anthrocoon the other day too :(

Sigh. Not to mention Dragoneer/Preyfar, gone at only 44 thanks to medical insurance malpractice. Just in the past couple of years, beyond those you've already mentioned, there's been MuscleWolf, his husband Dineegla, and aw hell! Gene Catlow's been gone almost seven years, and Dogbomb almost six! I scan over Gene's obituary and see he was only 59, the age I am now.

One thing I kinda hate about online relationships is you may not know of the passing of an acquaintance, or even a good friend, until months after the fact. Sometimes we aren't as connected as we think we are; hell, I've been in the fandom 27 years now, and only know the RL names of maybe a couple dozen people in furry. That goes both ways, of course; like most furs I like to keep my RL name as separate as I can from my furry one. So when one of us dies, the news can be slowed down by that anonymity pipeline.

Just the other day I had a young fur on Telegram tell me I should be writing about my experiences in "old time" furry (his wording). I know I sound like a old man screaming "you young'uns get off my lawn!" when I talk about dial-up connections, half-hour lags on FurryMUCK, web rings, and the personal intimacy it's almost impossible to have at conventions anymore (I mean quality time of any kind; with attendance counts over 10,000 it's hard to connect with more than a handful of people in four days). So, I guess at least one younger fur would like to hear a detailed account of the olden days before us old farts are all gone.

I'm babbling; I apologize.

I remember having a conversation of reflection with Uncle Kage (who will also be 60 this year, just a few months older than me) about our being the "old men" of the fandom. This was about 15 years ago, and we were mostly joking, but the sad truth is the furry fandom, with its "founders" from the Baby Boomers and Generation X, is slowly but surely aging itself away. After my stroke in 2012 at age 46, I had more than one doctor tell me I'd be lucky to see 50, maybe 55 if I played my cards right. Here I am at 59, moderately robust but still stubbornly indulging a few stupid and unhealthy habits.

I guess I don't know what my point is here. It isn't just happening in furry, of course; it applies to all aspects of our lives. I've been to more funerals and "celebration of life" ceremonies (a term I despise, but that's a topic for another day) in the past ten years than the rest of my life combined, and they seem to be picking up in speed and number. I feel strong twinges of survivor's guilt.

Fuck. If these are the golden years, then in many ways it's fool's gold.

Oh no! This is the first I heard. This is sad news.

Since I'm turning 70 this year, I'm going to wrap myself in bubble-wrap. That should keep me safe.

I hope so! We absolutely can’t lose you and Bullet Crow!!

Thanks!

R.I.P. bunnyman

I've been working on a running tally of who's died over the years, and 2024 was truly horrible. So far, I've got 16 names, more than I have for any other year, though I am also sure I've missed a bunch of folks from the past. I also have incomplete data on a lot of them, mostly full names and complete birth & death dates, so if anyone can fill in holes, it'd be appreciated:
1 Richard Bartrop - 12/8/2024
2 Mitch Biero - 9/10/1965 to 2/15/2024
3 Michael Crisci (Dineegla) 12/4/2024
4 Dr. Moreau - 4/30/2024
5 Jeb "Robcat" Martinez - 3/1/1954 to 6/13/2024
6 Mark Merlino (Sy Sable) - 5/12/1952 to 2/20/2024
7 Ostrich - 9/2024
8 Sean "Dragoneer" Piche - 8/6/2024
9 Piedunk - 10/7/2024
10 Heather Reisen (Auryanne) - 1976 to 7/19/2024
11 Rolix - 2024
12 Scott Ruggles - 2024
13 Sirius Akita - 2024
14 Henry Sykes (Beezel) - 2024
15 Taral Wayne - 10/12/1951 - 8/1/2024
16 Brian Yelverton (Bunnyman) - 1957 to 11/15/2024

I hadn't heard about Auryanne. I've known her since way back in the alt.fan.dragons days, but like so many folks I knew from that era, I'd long since lost contact with her.

Bunnyman is gone? I wondered why he hadn't been posting for a while.Crap. I liked his posts and talking with him online.

RIP.

You really should add Joshua Quagmire to the list of honored dead as well.

He was an inspiration to me and a few others, in furry fandom's dawn years.

-Badger-

We also just recently lost  Anthrocoon as well. He was an early fur and known for a lot of early fandom (90's) video footage.