For real: The Wee Baby Seamus died on Monday (natural causes), and we found out yesterday through a relative. It’s heartbreaking. TWBS was one of the best friends anyone could have. We were lucky to know him.
TWBS had outstanding qualities: bright, generous, more doer than talker–among many others (“A loyal and bearable ass” –Dave). What I liked most about TWBS was that he stirred shit like it was on fire, adept with both the stick and the lighter fluid.
For his “Sexy Friday” posts, TWBS responded to “pimp” accusations like a bull with an extensive photography background. He started to post about composition and lighting, and shared some of his own photographs. Even full of spite, TWBS was generous and transparent.
When his transparent fandom for Offspring became too generous, “Dude!”s did not deter TWBS. He laughed them off and posted more vids. Of course, TWBS was a man who could take offense, although the guy could never be bullied.
The closest I got to TWBS was talking to him by phone, which we did at least yearly since 2016. We talked and texted about our own lives, as friends do, and sometimes commiserated—as good friends do. He had a huge heart, which is apparent to anyone who has read him. If someone commented being down, he replied amiably.
TWBS’s “Wednesday Motivational” showed commitment to positivity and working out personal struggles. He was honest and didn’t give a shit about cynical heckling—which requires fortitude when you have both kinds of Internet readers: wackos and smartypants. TWBS always wanted to help, always. He was the sweetest hothead I’ve ever known, and I miss him terribly.
TWBS always stepped up when a post was required, and he always was engaged and encouraging with DFO stuff. He was unique, irreplaceable. I’m sure the romantic life of members of the service industry across the US will suffer from TWBS’s loss, but he’s been central to DFO. I mean, comments about TWBS’s dating experiences have been placed on the banner! That’s what passes for affection around these parts, and I take solace in knowing that TWBS felt very well our affection for him.
Goodbye, man. Luv ya.
/radio edit by yeah right:
Well, yet another reason 2020 can fuck itself right in it’s own metaphorical asshole.
TWBS was a damn fine man, a good friend, and capable of making me laugh while insulting me, which is a tough shot to make. I haven’t been around DFO a lot the last few years, for lots of personal reasons, and tWBS helped me through that just by being himself. He would unerringly know when to reach out to someone by email or phone, say just the right (or, more often and far funnier, the wrong) thing, and let you know you mattered. He was my friend and I will be forever grateful for having known him.
I’m gonna go have a shot of Jameson in his honor, and read some of his old posts. Fuck this year.
Fuck man. I saw the title of the article and thought Don was just thanking tWBS for helping to keep all of us going through whatever shit we’ve had to deal with, personal or global.
I gave him shit about the various tWLSs, but man this fucking sucks donkey balls. (I’m sure he had a story about sucking donkey balls too.)
Really just a good guy, who would do anything for people he knew or didn’t know. I will miss seeing his avatar and hearing his words of kindness that even if they weren’t directed towards me, always seemed to pick me up, or remind me to be a better person in my life.
PS. In tribute to him, all single DFOers should try to do a few acts of kindness towards those we can’t stand. And when this thing is all over, try to date someone who “inappropriately”, but legally younger.
Also, have some act of kindness blow up in our faces in a sweet Larry David way.
RIP Seamus may you have many puppies and kittens to give scritches to.
Guys I’m so sorry. Just so sorry.
Just got home and saw this. That dude was solid, as was his advice. Sail on man.
God damn it all. Gonna miss that guy. RIP TWBS.
Holy shit. This is a gut punch.
I only know him from what his online persona. From what I could tell, he was a great person and a honorable man.
Rest in peace, my imaginary internet friend.
Well… fuck.
Well, I came on here looking for some of the usual good thoughts from TWBS after a shitty work day only to find I am late to the wake and brought no goddamn whiskey. RIP, internet legend.
/Fuck 2020 in the ass with a grappling hook.
//Avid reader, occasional commenter, and like all of you, fan of Seamus.
That is quite the gut punch.
This is why Don remains the King.
Until DFO Valhalla.
It’s what he (and all of us) would have wanted.
Important to include our hard drives on the boat as clearing our browser histories won’t be enough.
Better have some extra coins for Charon when we cross the River Styx.
[looks downcast realizing there will be no spare change available today] – Todd Marinovich
*elbows Todd*
“You checked all his pockets, right?” – Ryan Leaf
This is the best. Thank you LemonJello.
[…] you’ve learned earlier today in Don_T’s excellent post, we lost a member of the [DFO] […]
Safe travels to your next life internet friend and thanks for all the dick jokes. *Raises glass*
“I Feel A Great Disturbance In The Force.”
-Incredibly Shitty 90’s Bands
Damn that sucks.
I’m not good at testimonials.
Go easy, tWBS. You were an excellent person and made me laugh my ass off way too many times to count. I wish we had been able to coordinate a meetup and bitched about the Orioles. We never got to it, and that makes this all the more bitter.
Fuck. There are no words. He was a lovely man.
Perfect.
Damn. No words.
I only wish I had some dick jokes to make. He was a wonderful, awful, kind, hilarious, juvenile, generous, incredible human. It is a testament to the greatness of the man by the greatness of who remember him. I will, like all of you, miss him terribly.
Let’s tip one back and pour one out, okay dudes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvgZkm1xWPE
[dick joke]
He was very nice and supportive of me when I had my nervous breakdown, and guys like him were the reason I felt safe coming here to share something like that. Rest In Peace, man. You’ll be sorely missed.
WHAT. THE. FUCK??
Sorry; this shocked me. He pulled the ultimate DUDE! by leaving us when there are so many others, well most of the population, that should have left. That sounds bitter and it is. I feel for his mom too. We could troll each other very well in a fun way. I don’t even have a gif for this.
Also; Don this is so well done, I can’t really express it. It is getting dusty in here.
A lot of what I could say about him has already been said, but on a personal level my relationship to him was unique due to our age difference.
It doesn’t matter in the long run, but i regarded him as an elder statesman that inexplicably had my exact sense of humor, and he was willing to put up with my idiotic “young person ideas” that only a person with a huge heart could.
I’m still lost about what I lost as what to say. Just know this hurts a lot of people in a deep way.
When you grow up the first loved one you lose is typically an older relative, and if you see them age you usually get a sense of closure with their passing.
This isnt like that. This feels like finding out one of my old football buddies died. Someone I went to classes with, someone I threw cheap shots back with in a dive bar.
I’m another here who didn’t get to know Seamus as well as some. But what always struck me about him was his openness, his generosity, and his depth of feeling. He was unfailingly kind and helpful when I was a total WordPress newbie and trying to figure out how to begin. I can only imagine what he was like as a friend.
A bit of pompousness now…
If the measure of a person is the good that s/he does and the friends s/he leaves behind, then, based on what I’ve seen of him, Seamus could stand with anybody I’ve ever met. If we all could have somebody like him in our lives, the world would be a vastly better place.
There’s so much that’s been said, and yet so much more to say. TWBS made it out to California more times than I can remember, and if there was so much as an mention of a get together, he’d find his way there. He was simple and complex at the same time, and “loyal” is a step down from how he treated his friends and those around him. This news rocked me to my core yesterday, which has only downgraded to a constant gut punch today. There will be more in the coming days, but godddddamn this one hurts.
Oh the stories we could tell but probably won’t.
I’m going to go to my grave regretting not meeting him in person.
My cheapness always got the better of me. Either I couldn’t afford airfare, or I was holding out hope for a chicago meet up.
I regret not getting a chance to meet him as well. I think this underscores a need for another get together.
DFOCon East was always in the cards, and I regret we hadn’t gotten the chance to have our version of the meetup.
When this madness ends, there will be a DFOCON. You can fucking count on it.
Wichita?
Is there anywhere better?
The Allagash White shall flow like sycophancy from Peter King’s keyboard.
I would prefer drinking it out of his bleached skull, but whatever.
One word – Cleveland.
Goddamit. We’re doing this. i don’t give a fuck when or how.
I’ll be there.
I’ll be paying my proper respects on Friday, but I wanted to post this here, both because of its message and because it won’t be in keeping with the Request Line theme. Rest In Peace, my friend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rLXnvkOadY
It’s a mini request line double shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vc9Mz2tfHM
Better distill it three times for something with some of my favorite drum fills and a little too fitting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LoGyNRk_wg
Thanks Don for capturing him perfectly. Like others, I didn’t get a chance to know him IRL, but was always good to see him posting and commenting here. It’s been a number of hours since I found out and still not sure how to put into coherent words what I’m feeling about this loss. Damn. I wasn’t expecting to be this choked up by the loss of an “imaginary internet friend” but here we are. The world and our little corner of it will be poorer without his contributions to it.
God speed tWBS, I’ll miss ya.
Shit, I hardly ever post but I read just about everything. He seemed to be a genuinely good person and I’ll miss reading his thoughts and stories. I shouldn’t be so bothered by losing an imaginary internet friend but this sucks.
Holy Shit! I feel absolutely gutted. I never had the chance to meet him in RL but I really enjoyed his posts and the back and forth in the comments. Seeing a post by tWBS was always something that brightened my day.
Gonna go huddle under some blankets for awhile.
Man, this is just terrible. I know no other way to salute him than by playing a terrible ’80s song that was likely already posted downthread in a DFO Radio post. Here is one of the last songs he posted, which is fitting because it is a non-sequitur, a relic from the ’80s, somewhat annoying, but catchy as shit and you can’t help but love it. RIP, brother.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRYFKcMa_Ek&feature=youtu.be
Dude.
Dude.
Edited to remove the exclamation point. Didn’t mean for that one to be there.
/wipes tear, clears throat
Dude.
It still hurts. I’m going to have plenty more to say in the coming days but hearing the news broke my heart.
Wait. What.
Fuck. No. No. Fuck.
We’re here for you brother.
That describes my feelings pretty well too
Don, thanks for doing this. It was extremely well done, to the point that somewhere tWBS is absolutely mortified and trying to deny 3/4 of it.
Damn.
I’m normally very wary of “I wear my heart on my sleeve” types, but there was something so obviously genuine about TWBS that he was an exception to that rule.
Seamus was always in attendance at the DFO gatherings and we spent countless times together. While we occasionally would butt heads online or via email we NEVER had issues in person. He was warm, positive, upbeat and funny as hell in real life. The last time I saw him I gave him a big hug and said “You need to get your ass out here to California for good.”
He was like a brother.
Don’t be surprised if the coroner discovers “ass herpes.”
I’ll miss the hell out of him.
I always thought he would be a neighbor someday, and that he’d charm a bartender or hostess into making fun bad decisions with him, because that’s just what he does.
Should have been Roger Goodell.
This comment should get all the likes.
Regardless of the situation, this deserves a banner.
Well written Don T.
Seamus, Thanks for the laughs and the quick wit. You’re missed already.
Condolences are hard. I did not know him the way that some here did but I feel like I knew him through his writing. He had both wit and empathy in large amounts and I will miss him and what he had to say, both in his posts and in the comments.
I’m going to save my thoughts for a little later on, but even 18 hours later, I still feel absolutely gutted. We’re gonna miss you, man. I’m sure we’ll meet again one day, somehow.
Been upset all night. A great man. Written perfectly Don T.
Going to miss the big man’s sense of humoUr and vet/life help.
Perfectly done, Don.
Gonna miss you a lot, Seamus. Thank you for the laughs, the fun, and the veteraian help. Love ya, bud.