Re: Al Barsa

[Vernon Hamberg <vhamberg@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jerry

In a way, I wish Al had not been so dedicated to the iSeries and 
COMMON - might be still with us. Nonetheless, his shadow will rest 
over us all for many years. And anything else would not have been Al, 
as others have said.

I took a header maybe something like his, maybe a year ago. Body 
basically did a straight out hinge from my toe - hit a carpet-covered 
concrete floor - I consider myself alive only by some miracle.

Al will be missed!

Vern

At 10:51 AM 4/4/2008, you wrote:

> I was not at the Main Event last night, but I spoke with Al several
> times at the Conference.  I asked him about his accident.  He told me
> that, when he told the doctor that he had to be at COMMON within a few
> days, the doctor told him that he should be more concerned about waking
> up in the morning.  He did not say so specifically, but I got the
> impression then that he was in Nashville against doctor's best advice.
> Whether true or not, Al was aware that his was not a trivial accident.
>
> During the other times that we spoke, he always had the same demeanor:
> helpful and friendly.  But it was easy to see that he was not up to his
> normal level.  Just another example, among many, of Al's dedication to
> COMMON and the community.  It seems from the messages here that I am not
> the only one aware of these traits.  But until one got to actually know
> Al, one did not really have an appreciation of Al Barsa, the person.  I
> guess that could be said of anyone, of course.
>
> May you be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you're dead, Al.
>
>         * Jerry C. Adams
> *IBM System i Programmer/Analyst
> B&W Wholesale Distributors, Inc.* *