A personal note about a colleague, gone far too soon.
Marc Borland wrote a few different blogs, most prominent among them one named Full Throttle that was devoted to auto racing. He was a true pioneer of the sports blogging genre, starting his in 2002 at a time when blogging in general was a generally unknown quantity to the world at large. Sports blogging? Unheard of. Yet there was Marc, posting away about not only sports, but a sport many don't so much as consider to be one.
He was a individualistic man of singular vision and purpose. Marc was a pure blogger; always old school in a new genre. He could and would become more than a tad cranky when he didn't receive the acclaim he felt his work deserved. Yet any and all offers to go pro, as it were, were quickly rebuffed. Marc enjoyed being the master of his domain, and nothing would take him away from his chosen task. Full Throttle was his and his alone, a place on which he would comment at length on the individuals and events that together formed the sport he loved.
Marc was a walking encyclopedia of racing knowledge, which he would both generously share and bash over the head of anyone who expressed opinions contrary to his own. Woe unto any who dared argue with him without first arming themselves to the teeth with facts. Marc would chop the ill-informed down without a shred of mercy. Sometimes it came off as arrogance. But it never was, really. It was passion in action.
Marc was a Navy man, who after serving his country settled in the Philippines where he married and raised a family. If you ever wanted to turn the self-professed crusty curmudgeon into a bag of mush, a simple inquiry about his two daughters would do the trick. Marc ofttimes was thought of as being fierce. In fact, he was fiercely loyal to those who saw past the gruffness into the thoughtful, caring man that lived underneath a hardened surface.
Marc passed away earlier this month. It took several days for word to reach those of us who knew him online. When it did, those of us who've been around a while drew closer, comforting and consoling each other as the painful realization sank in. Our circle had once more drawn closer. One of our own was gone, an irreplaceable voice stilled.
There are certain fellowships for which membership is available only to participants. We're familiar with the brotherhoods of cops and firefighters. Bloggers who center around the same theme also know this fellowship, especially if our chosen topic is anything but fashionable. We reach past the mechanics of what we write about into the whys of our subject matter. Which leads to who we are and how this leads to our writing. Which leads to bonds of friendship that, while seldom spoken, are always present. Yes, we still argue about things. But that disappears in a heartbeat as we genuinely care about, and for, the people behind the opinions.
It's hard to accept that Marc is gone. Yet there it is.
Farewell, blogging buddy.
ADDENDUM: Clance' McClannahan shares her memories.
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