I hardly knew him, yet we were simpatico, on the same wavelength.  I called him Cowboy.  He phoned just the other night while coming home from his mother’s.  It was a full moon.  We talked about nothing important–our publications, cancer, family, a full moon, the election.  We got disconnected and he called back.  I could tell he was very tired.

Most thought we were competitors. He, YoVenice.  Me, the Update.  We each did different types of publications and each respected the other because of it.

At some point he took on the role of a teacher, big brother.  Probably wanted to humiliate me as big brothers tend to do but with growth being the result.  He continuously chastised me for not having a website.  If he saw something wrong with my newsletter, he would be the first to let me know but in a factual way.

Every time we emailed, he said I had to get a website.  In fact he offered to do a website for me.  He sent me the instructions on how to post, how to add a photo, and let me use his website until I felt secure doing it.  I realized at that point I had to take a class to do a website and learn all the intricacies. After I got my website up and running, he was one of the first to see it before it went public.

When I publically announced my website, I said it went viral.  He let me know that wasn’t what “viral” meant.  Here I thought I had just become a techie only to have my corrective teacher, big brother let me know that wasn’t what “viral” meant.  Recently he emailed to tell me that I had to reference the website on my email newsletter.  This I did.

Our last few emails were about his cancer. He told me about his father and his cancer. He sent me a photo of the room where he took his chemo and wrote YoVenice.  He let me know he didn’t think he would make it or knew he wouldn’t but he didn’t say that.  We didn’t talk of death.

Last VNC election.  I was one of the vote counters two years ago, and yet, Bret beat me publicizing the results. We joked about that for a long time.  I vowed to beat him next time and told him so.   He had plans for some kind of x-ray vision coupled with some telemetric system ramped up in his imagination that would beat me next time too.  The full-moon night, I told him I was going to beat him this time.  He calmly said “You can have this one.”

Someone very dear to me, to Venice passed away yesterday.  He made a difference. Bret Haller of YoVenice died of cancer 9 April 2014.  My heartfelt condolences to his family.

Note:  This was published in YoVenice by WatchDawg Rick Feibush this morning. Felt it was only fitting for Bret to beat me one more time.