22 replies to this topic

[Craig]

It brings great sadness that I have to report the passing of my long time friend Barney. I received a text message from Annette about 1:00 PM that he suffered a massive heart attack and on the way to the hospital he passed. 

 

You will be missed!

[Rotorranch]

RIP and Godspeed, Barney.

 

I have a few cars I bought from Barney.

 

He will be missed. So sad to lose another friend.

 

Rotor

[bbr]

OMG... I just saw Barney around last Thanksgiving.
Still remember the long drive we took to Seattle for a HO race.

RIP.

[mdiv]

Oh, no!   RIP!  

[MSwiss]

Sad to hear, and a complete shock.

A major loss to the slot racing community.

May Barney rest in peace.

[Richie]

Thoughts and prayers for his family. Rest in peace, Barney.

[Tim Neja]

Oh, this is so sad! I spoke to Barney last month at length. We were talking about how we've moved to our little ranches and are enjoying living on them. 

 

RIP, Barney – God bless Anette and the family.  

[Phil Smith]

RIP, Barney.

[eshorer]

Oh, man... this is such sad news. I felt so good about his move up north, and was hoping to visit when I would go to see another Boola teammate of mine who moved to the same town. My condolences to his wife and close friends. He was a fierce competitor

with a gentle soul.

 

RIP, Barn.  

 

Eddie

[Tex]

So sorry to hear this... RIP, Barney.

[tazman]

I was just starting to get know him and Annette. His presence at Tim's track on Thursdays was something I really looked forward to. The racing was very competitive, his slot car knowledge he shared with us was outstanding, and most of all he was great guy!

 

I will miss him and RIP Barney. Much aloha to my friend, Annette and family!  

 

Rick 

[Bryan Warmack]

OMG... I spoke to Barney about a month ago. Another sad day and totally unexpected. 

 

RIP, my friend.

[Gil Gundersen]

Very sad to hear. Rest in peace, my friend.

[Ray Lee]

Very sad news!!

 

RIP, Barney.

[Cheater]

Oh, no. I spoke to Barney only recently and we've swapped a few emails since then.

 

We've lost another seminal figure in the history of the hobby.

 

RIP, my friend.

[Gary Donahoe]

Very sorry to learn of Barney's passing. He will be missed by many.

 

RIP, Barney.

[Mike K]

Sad news. Godspeed, Barney.

[Tom Eatherly]

This was a shock to hear this. Spoke to Barney a couple months ago and things seemed fine. Very sad to know this. Great guy.

 

We'll miss you, Barn. RIP.

[Jim Lange]

Very Sad. Barney was one of the best. Spoke with him just last week. Godspeed my friend.

[TSR]

Just a month ago, Barney and his wife Annette visited me in my home and we had a tour of the collection of antique tinplate toy cars, and had a great time.
 
Yesterday, Annette called me to tell me the bad news: Barney had got the bug, and was doing good, recovering, when he suffered a blood clot. Unable to breathe and despite prompt medical attention, he passed away.
 
Barney was a good guy, he was passionate about slot cars and especially recently, about building "RetroPro" motors until he and Annette retired from active life and moved to Nevada.
 
RIP, Barn, we will miss you.

[Kim Lander]

So sorry for your loss of a good friend. Will pray for his family...

 

Kim

[Mbloes]

Kim, prayers don't matter and they don't work. Get vaxxed. 
 
Barney wasn't older than me (65) and I suspected it all along. Philippe's post just confirmed it.
 
[Edit: I have edited out Mike's original comment here because, according to Barney's wife, Annnette, Barney had indeed received the COVID vaccination as well as the booster shot. As far as I am concerned, that is the final word on this subject.]
 
You guys that are trying too hard to be tough guys - get vaxxed.

[Cheater]

I'm going to lock this thread after taking unfair advantage of my position as the nutcase who runs this asylum to have my little say, as I don't want it to sink into the usual COVID-related, mostly political BS seen in almost every discussion on the subject anywhere.

I'm up to almost 30 friends and long-term acquaintances whose demises, accurately or not, have been blamed on the damn virus, many of them slot racers but many not. Most had not been vaccinated but some had been.

 

One well-known slot racer spent nearly a month spent nearly a month in hospital and was told bluntly that he had about a 20% of survival. Happily, he has survived. I asked if if he had been vaxxed and he admitted that he was fully vaxxed now, and remarked that the vaccines had been rushed into use without the usual thorough testing, and that they were nowhere near as effective as the polio vaccine I had referenced earlier in our conversation.

I told him is that I didn't care whether the COVID vaccines were 80, 50, or 30% effective, that any level of protection was better than zero %. And noted that there are virually no medications that are 100% effective. He made no reply to that.

So many of the objections to the vaccines seem to me to be based on simply politics, a belief in pseudo-science gleaned from the internet, friends, or who knows where, and/or a distrust of medicine and science in general. Has COVID taken down people who had been fully vaccinated? Yes, absolutely, but by all reports at a far lower rate than those who had not been.

Whether one gets vaxed or nor boils down to personal choice. Do what you feel is right for you. But, like gambling with money, it's not very smart to make a bet that you're unable or unwilling to lose. If you feel you'd rather take your chances without being vaxxed, have at it. Just realize what you're laying on the line, what the cost will be if you lose that bet.

My late grandfather is probably the wisest man I have ever known and he absolutely refused to wear a seat belt, even after it was mandated by law. He drove until he was 99 and never had an accident. I wear my belt religiously and am pretty certain being belted has saved my life on two separate occasions. There's little doubt I would have gone through the windshield when I rear-ended a stopped car at roughly 50 MPH had I not been belted.

As Dirty Harry (I think) said, "Do you feel lucky today?"