Bart Has Passed Away

[Swatopluk]

is "rhetorical" the only English word where an h follows an r ?

It's not an (original) English word. All words originating from Greek starting with an r have an h behind the r (or something uis wrong)

rheumatic, rhododendron, rheologly, rhubarb, rhinoceros...

[Griffin NoName]

Brain dead!

[Bruder Cuzzen]

  Goodbye Bart , i was always in awe of your wit.
You always brightened my days , as with Pieces , you were priceless to me , a treasure .

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

My father was a car mechanic in his 20's and regularly stripped asbestos out of engines (I have no idea why). He so far (age 93) has not developed mesothelioma. Why does it get some people and not others? (rhetorical).


is "rhetorical" the only English word where an h follows an r ?

In the early days of autos, asbestos was often used as a gasket--especially between hot items.  As such, it was typically mixed with something that bound it together, such as asphal or similar.  That would tend to minimize the release of the dangerous fibers, thus your father's exposure was low.

I suppose some cars also used it as sound insulation too, although I don't know of any-- I *have* personally seen the asbestos gaskets though.

[Bluenose]

Thinking back, during my childhood, asbestos cement sheet was a very common building product, as kids it was not at all unusual to break up odd bits of AC sheet found lying around (destructive little shits that we were).  At school, we had asbestos mats which we used over Bunsen burners in chemistry class.  Then I joined the Navy, I served in HMAS Melbourne a 1942 design light fleet carrier which had asbestos all over the place, especially used as lagging on steam and hot water pipes, but also in many other places.  Of course all my first cars had asbestos in the brake linings/disc pads as well as in the head gasket my first two cars were British: a mini, and a Morris 1100s which has asbestos manifold gaskets and an asbestos ring gasket between the exhaust manifold and tail pipe.  My first few cars, as well as in the brakes, had asbestos driven plates on the clutch on all the manual cars I had - the mini, 100 a Mitsubishi Sigma and a Triumph TR7.  Other cars I have owned that had a lot of asbestos in them were a Daimler V8 Saloon and two more Mitsubishi Sigmas (one manual, one auto).  It was during my ownership of the Triumph that asbestos was banned and I well remember those first cellulose disc pads that replaced them - they were terrifying, soft and wore out very quickly, I quickly learned the value of semi-metal pads at that time.  I used to do all my own car maintenance, so I guess I must have been exposed to some amount of asbestos.

The first person I knew personally that got mesothelioma was Dave Martin, who was Captain of Melbourne when I joined her (he had a substantive rank of Commodore).  He later made it to Admiral and when he retired from the navy later became Governor of New South Wales.  It was during his tenure as Governor that he was diagnosed with the disease with the inevitable end result.  A great loss as he was one of nature's gentlemen and the best leader I have ever known.  Dave's disease was put down to his exposure in navy ships and I have always wondered ever since just what level of exposure I may have been subject to.  Of course, most people that have served do not end up with mesothelioma, but still...

I know this seems all irrelevant to Bart's passing, but when I heard he had mesothelioma, it all came back to me.  It is such a bugger of a disease and can lie there dormant for decades, typically 30 to 40 years and whammo.  So I hope you'll all forgive me for my little rave here.

Damn, I'm going to miss Bart, he was one in a million.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Thanks for that trip down memory lane, Blue.  You reminded me of many things I did as a young man in my early automobile days.  I would like to think that Bart would've approved too-- he seemed to be a very likable guy. 

What's more, the respect he earned from people who really knew him, is Quite Telling.   (emphasis deliberate)

I cannot think of a higher legacy, than to leave behind a large and diverse group of people, who consistently tell amazing things-- yet each tale is a bit different than the one before.

That reveals a depth of personality that anyone can admire.

Here's hoping that your personal exposure is well below the threshold that, if exceeded, seems to trigger the ailment. 

Science has not (yet) discovered what, exactly, this threshold is--likely it varies greatly from person to person, as so many other things do.

The sad thing about asbestos fibers, is that they are similar to mercury or arsenic-- once taken in (by whatever means), they seem to persist in our bodies the remainder of our days, lying in wait for a sufficient quantity to accumulate.   Like some sort of insidious evil spirit.

Except that asbestos is neither evil nor good-- it just is, a mindless thing, that is so completely uncaring about the fates of mere mortal humans, that it becomes almost worse, in a way.

I can identify a bit, with an angry devil, or a malicious daemon-- at least they are intentional in the damage they do.

But asbestos and similar things, reminds us that the Universe simply Does Not Care.  At All.   Ever.

....meh.

... so.   It behooves us mortal humans to care all that much more, does it not?   To kind of make up for an Uncaring Universe?

We Care.   

Because--- We Can. 

[Aggie]

It behooves us mortal humans to care all that much more, does it not?   To kind of make up for an Uncaring Universe?

We Care.   

Because--- We Can. 

*rumble* to that.

[Aphos]

Just noticed this.

<sniff>

<sob>

[anthrobabe]

Do any of you ever go round a corner and see a cheerful ghost pirate with his hook up his nose?

I do.

Sometimes I run into something that crazy darling fool made up and there he is....

[Griffin NoName]

Yes, he may be gone, but he is not forgotten.

We have had to get an "Asbestos Certificate" for our blockof flats and all the communal flooring and stairs are asbestos.

[edd]

I was aware of Bart's passing thanks to some mutual Facebook friends, but I hadn't expressed my grief publicly until I began posting again at TOP a couple of months ago. One of my first posts over there was an original pun that I was quite proud of and Bart's sincere praise greatly encouraged me to become an active member.

In the back of my mind, I had always believed that we would eventually meet in person and the realization that now this would not happen was an emotional blow all its own.

[Griffin NoName]

Yes, Bart is still a loss that stays with me. Maybe you will meet up in the beer garden Edd.