Hashke in Memoriam

This is the text of the e-mail:

Dear Gil,

It is with great sadness that I write this e-mail. Last week Alan died. He loved life and he was a great spirit. You and others made his life so much better during these last two painful years. He loved being able to reach out beyond this town to friends around the world with whom he could pun and joke and learn.

This summer, sick as he was, he was insistent on getting Yiddish books and learning and reading. You were the inspiration for this. He eagerly searched e-mail and the mote for his intellectual fix. It was like a great dinner table conversation and we shared it.

My thanks to you. I shall miss him terribly.

Kaye

2. CalGal - 11/15/2000 3:09:40 AM

Hashke was a wonderful, funny man. I'll miss him. And what a lovely letter from Kaye.

You might want to post that in Language, too.

3. RustlerPike - 11/15/2000 6:03:04 AM

Cal:

I think it is more appropriate that you, or wabbit, post something that you see appropriate, and not just to Language. Hash was loved by so many of us, and shared his puns and poetry and stories with so many of us, that I think it would be more than appropriate to honor him in an 'official' manner.

I'm pretty sure that Alan's wife sent me that e-mail (assuming she did not e-mail anyone else on the Mote) figuring I would know what to do with it, and be her 'representative' in this matter, so to speak. But if you read it well, it is addressed to all of us.

I, at least, am beginning a cyber-shiva. I will not post or otherwise enter the Mote for a week, in memory of beloved Hashke, that wonderful, rare, wise man. I never heard his voice, I saw his picture once, maybe, but it is just as real a blow to me as any other of its kind. Which means you really can know a person through fora like this one. Perhaps you can even know them better than in the conventional ways of getting acquainted, because - at least in Hashke's case - there is an essence that shines forth through the typed-in words.

Hash has had many dear friends on the Mote and the Fray - IrvingSnodgrass and PamIAm spring to my mind, but there are many others - and everyone should have a chance to mourn and grieve and talk about him.

4. Electric Slide - 11/15/2000 6:19:39 AM

I'm sorry to read your post, RP. Hashke was a very witty person.

5. stostosto - 11/15/2000 7:11:53 AM

So sad. Hashke was so much fun and so much wisdom. I will miss him. I've missed him already since he hasn't been here that frequently over the last year.

If it wasn't for him, I would never have known the (allegedly) Norwegian (alleged) expression 'to shit in the blue cupboard'.

Damn.

-----
I think this should be announced on the thread list, perhaps an entry reading 'some exceedingly sad information', linking to Rustler's #7312. Or something.

6. PelleNilsson - 11/15/2000 7:42:05 AM

I just logged in. I'm shocked and sad, but not really surprised. He hasn't been posting for a long time and he was quite sick when he came home from the hospital the last time. I'll create a thread where we can exchange some memories of hashke and maybe recall some witty conversations and punning contests. A remarkable thing was that every conversation with hashke turned witty. He must have been a fantastic conversationalist in RL.

When I get home tonight I will create The Hashke Collection of Short Stories and Anecdotes and link it from the front page.

7. PelleNilsson - 11/15/2000 8:04:16 AM

The above posts were moved from Suggestions.

8. Angel-Five - 11/15/2000 8:09:21 AM

Alan will be missed. His poetry was a living thing.

9. stostosto - 11/15/2000 8:17:12 AM

I thought about us having a thread like this when I read Rustler's post. Then I wondered if it would be inappropriate? I note that Rustler's approach is the opposite one -- assuming this shiva thing is equivalent to a week of silence as he seemed to imply.

My doubts, I think, stem mostly from the fact that I have such a fumbling, bumbling, insecure shyness when confronted with death. I think it's so difficult to know how to conduct oneself. In a way it's like being alone with a woman whom you are secretly madly in love with. You don't know what to say or do, and you feel that everything you do say and do comes out completely wrong and reflects extremely badly on your persona. There. That came out completely wrong.

But I do think it's appropriate to have this thread. Let's speak some good words of old hashke. He was so extraordinarily good at words himself.

10. pseudoerasmus - 11/15/2000 8:29:22 AM

I can't say I much liked Hashke's puns, but I greatly admired his scholarship, erudition, anecdotes and writings, particularly his evocations of the Southwest desert in prose and verse. I'm glad that I once had the opportunity to defend his most beloved personal enterprise -- the preservation of the Navajo language &
culture -- when it was dismissed by someone as the ethnologist's futile vanity. Hashke's labour of love was devoted to the Navajo people, and I hope they appreciate what he's done for them.

11. joezan - 11/15/2000 8:31:12 AM

Truly a loss to the world.

Hashke (at least on-line - and who'd have cause to believe things would be any different irl?) was a one-of-a-kind personality. Brilliant, obviously - yet not obviously brilliant. No airs - nothing to prove. No malice, no ill-will. The man was bulletproof.

12. phillipdavid - 11/15/2000 8:46:55 AM

I loved his poems, many of which I saved and shared with other people. Just last week I read a poem of his (which I titled "cement")to a group of friends and family at a dinner party. They all enjoyed it very much. I will truly miss reading more from him...

13. bubbaette - 11/15/2000 8:46:55 AM

and funny. I loved his puns and I'll miss him.

14. mgleason - 11/15/2000 8:54:07 AM

My condolences to Hashke's family and many friends. His was a joyous spirit.

15. Ronski - 11/15/2000 9:03:49 AM

I, too, admired his devotion to the Navajo people, and his poetry. A great sadness, to lose him.

16. JudithAtHome - 11/15/2000 9:11:41 AM

A sad day indeed...goodbye to the fastest pun in the West. Miss you.

17. Stumbo - 11/15/2000 9:14:49 AM

I think he would've liked it better had this thread been named "Hashke R.I.P."

*tips hat*

18. glendajean - 11/15/2000 9:30:38 AM

Farewell, dear Hashke (which must mean one of a kind).

19. Wombat - 11/15/2000 9:44:49 AM

A very punny man.

20. RickNelson - 11/15/2000 9:49:55 AM

My heart felt condolences to Kaye and all of Hashké's family. A more selfless poster is hard to find. I enjoyed everything he's ever posted and I will miss him. I also have come to look here as a home away from home, for conversation and good company. One can try on new hats here and in my case fool around with words. The memory of Hashké in the Poetry thread, for me, will not fade with time.


Peace
Yo
.
.
.
.

21. marjoribanks - 11/15/2000 9:52:05 AM

Damn.
Things will never be the same again.
Goodbye, Pak Hashke.

22. DocBrown - 11/15/2000 9:55:51 AM

It seems strange that we would refer to the dear departed by his Mote name rather than his given name, but somehow appropriate. I knew him as Hashke, and that is how I shall miss him.

Goodbye, Hashke. Thank you for sharing your delightful wit.

23. ycmeehan - 11/15/2000 9:56:35 AM

Hashke was uncommonly kind and supportive of the Fray and Mote newcomers. He will always be a fond memory for many of us.

24. PsychProf - 11/15/2000 10:02:49 AM

Sadness loss goodbye Alan
we shared too little time and not enough circumstance
how your family must have loved you

25. msgreer - 11/15/2000 10:08:14 AM

My condolences to Kaye. Although I did not know Hashke I know he was loved by many and respected by all. May he rest in peace.

26. wabbit - 11/15/2000 10:19:11 AM

Hágoónee' Hashke.

27. ProfEmeritus - 11/15/2000 10:54:07 AM

Pak Hashke was my closest friend on the Mote and Fray. We exchanged lots of puns and even linguistic curiosities.

He adopted the honorific "Pak" with zest after I addressed him that way. Thereafter he always addressed me as "Pak Gurubesar" (Hononable Professor). He also used this honorific for his pal Pak Marj, who was one of the other culprits who encoureged Hashke's wonderful punning sequences. Pak Hashke would never terminate a punning session. He left that to his co-punners.

Being aware of Hashke's serious illness and the reason behind his recent absence from The Mote, I have taken out my grief in withdrawing from active participation. Without Hashke's responses I felt a debilitating sense of loneliness.

28. PelleNilsson - 11/15/2000 11:04:47 AM

I wanted to call this thread Hashke's Wake but I'm not sure of the exact connotations of the word and so feared that some would think it frivolous.

29. RickNelson - 11/15/2000 11:20:22 AM

Prof...........


Pak Gurubesar is what you are. I've been looking for your posts.

I don't know what to say.

.
.
.
.

30. Rivendell - 11/15/2000 11:24:08 AM

The depth of Hashke's knowledge was always stunning to me. It is a trait he shared with a number of other individuals in this forum. In addition Hashke was one of those rare individuals who took great joy in sharing his knowledge and encouraging others to learn with him.

I don't know what he did for a living, but it must have involved teaching even if it was not in a formal classroom.

It is a blessing to have known him, even in this little way.

31. Thoughtful - 11/15/2000 11:33:23 AM

My deepest sympathies to Hashke's family and to all who enjoyed getting to know Hashke, as did I. He brought light, laughter and learning to this place. His contributions will be missed.

I am, however, glad that in whatever small way, our paths had the opportunity to cross. A truly special person.

32. CalGal - 11/15/2000 12:06:47 PM

Hashke, I'll miss you.

In addition to the many fine qualities already mentioned here, Hashke told a hell of a tale. I include here my favorite, because it captures so much of what I enjoyed about Hashke--his amazing facility with languages, his ability to find the absurd in any situation, and his wry sense of humor.

Brunch Babel

33. Cellar Door - 11/15/2000 12:18:33 PM

Very sad. Deepest condolences. R.I.P.

34. labwabbit - 11/15/2000 12:58:01 PM

A page turned...

I sincerely extend my condolences to those who knew, loved, and must remain, to write the book of what he had been... and will continue to be in the lives of those he touched.


...Bon Voyage Hashke

35. ChristinO - 11/15/2000 1:04:48 PM

I didn't know Hashke well, but my affection for him is much greater than my personal knowledge of him and I will miss him. He has been such a staple of our community for so long. His wit, knowledge and integrity, his sense of fun and his passion for learning will be sorely missed. My thoughts are with his family and with all of those who grieve for the loss of him.

36. Jonesatlaw - 11/15/2000 1:22:38 PM

Tradition does not permit
naming those gone beyond us.
A true friend of the Dine
he walked in beauty
harmony and beauty radiated from him
filling the fourth world,
and the digital one of our creation.

We are left to carry him in us
in the left silence
to come into balance
and
to walk in beauty
as he did.

37. theDiva - 11/15/2000 1:40:21 PM

my God. What a loss. My admiration and respect for this intelligent, witty, warm, and wonderful gentleman was boundless. How amazing and yet how unsurprising that tears fall for this man whose voice I never heard. May his kind, sweet sould rest in peace.

38. Jonesatlaw - 11/15/2000 1:44:18 PM

39. theDiva - 11/15/2000 1:45:28 PM

Before retiring this thread we really ought to send it to his wife.

40. rubberducky - 11/15/2000 1:46:27 PM

i didn't know Hashke well either and am not sure i posted with him. i have, however, read a lot of his posts and enjoyed them. kinda makes me regret not telling him that when i had the chance. one of life's little lessons there, i suppose.

41. Jenerator - 11/15/2000 1:56:40 PM

I feel like you Diva, I'm crying as I type, yet I never had the pleasure of meeting Haske or his family. I remember his photo from the Fray days and what a fabulous sky was surrounding him. He was always pleasant and always upbeat. The last time we were punning with each other it was about birds and he asked: "What are you up to this mourning, dove?"

I miss his sweetness.

42. Slackjaw - 11/15/2000 2:04:54 PM

I think in all these years I only once exchanged posts with Hashke but I read with pleasure far more than I responded to. He was an invaluable part of the soul of the Fray and Mote and will be badly missed.

43. SnowOwl - 11/15/2000 2:12:15 PM

Hashke's posts never failed to delight me. He will be missed.

44. Raskolnikov - 11/15/2000 2:12:51 PM

I also barely ever exchanged posts with Hashke, except for a few times with regard to Russian. But his posts were often a joy to read, and I admired him for the intense curiosity which led him to pursue some rather unusual languages. He will be missed, and my sincerest condolences go to his family and loved ones.

45. Slackjaw - 11/15/2000 2:23:35 PM

The only time I did correspond with him directly it was about our handles. His meant something like "fierce," which I always found paradoxical. I didn't have any trouble believing it was in him and yet it basically never came through here.

46. IrvingSnodgrass - 11/15/2000 2:43:06 PM

I just heard the news today, and I'm devastated. Hashké was a dear friend, and he had been keeping in touch with me despite his illness until a month ago. I knew how ill he was, but he fought it like the hashké (warrior, in Navajo) he was.

I haven't been around here much, and Hashké's absence has been one of the reasons. He was a true scholar, with a love for language and linguistics, but more than that, he was a man who loved life and cared deeply for nature and people. He was also as true a friend as anyone could have, and was generous and giving. I have on my bookshelf seven of his books, as well as half a dozen others he sent me, and a large poster of the Navajo nation which he helped create. His last book even credited my wife and I for the small assistance we were able to give in helping compile his data. I will always treasure these for the memories of this great man and great friend.

Hashké and I had always planned to meet in person, and this past summer, I finally had the chance... I brought my family to New Mexico, but sadly, Hashké was too ill to see us. I did get a chance to see the state he loved so deeply, and the people he loved so well, and I never would have had this opportunity if not for Hashké.

Hashké's abilities as a linguist were amazing. Not only did he master and teach Navajo, a language few outside the Navajo nation have ever been able to learn, but he was proficient in dozens of other languages. In 1997, he informed me that he wanted to learn Indonesian. Within two weeks, our e-mails were mostly in Indonesian, and within months, our correspondence was almost entirely in Indonesian, in which he displayed a proficiency and grammatical accuracy which astounded me... all without ever visiting Indonesia.

[continued]

47. IrvingSnodgrass - 11/15/2000 2:43:30 PM

I'll miss Hashké's scholarship, and his keen humor, and his love of language and love of life, but most of all, I will miss a dear and irreplaceable friend. He leaves a hole in my life which can never be filled. I will always cherish the memories of this great man, of our interaction in the Fray and the Mote, of our correspondence, and of our phone calls.

One of Hashké’s books opens with the following passage from the Navajo Blessingway, and I find it an appropriate celebration of my friend, Alan Wilson, the Warrior.

Shik’éi kééhat’ iidi áadi táadíshááh
Kinlichi’idi áadi táadíshááh
Iiná nineezi bee hooghan bii’ táadíshááh
Hózhóonii bee hooghan bii’ táadíshááh
Sa’ah naaghái bik’eh hózhóón bik’ehgo táadíshááh
Atiin hózhónigo yisháái

I wander there where my people dwell
I wander there at the house of red earth and rocks
I wander within the house made of long life
I wander within the house made of beauty
I wander along the path of long life and happiness
I shall go on wandering the trail in beauty

48. IrvingSnodgrass - 11/15/2000 2:48:58 PM

49. labwabbit - 11/15/2000 2:51:55 PM

Irv

I'm so very sorry...

There's is no real requiem for a friend.

50. IrvingSnodgrass - 11/15/2000 2:57:20 PM

To me, the fitting way to mourn our friend's passing is to celebrate life and nature and people, to live life to its fullest, as he did.

And learn another language or two.

51. theDiva - 11/15/2000 2:58:46 PM

Irv

My condolences to you and of course to the rest of his family.

52. IrvingSnodgrass - 11/15/2000 3:01:31 PM

No condolences are needed for me... he was a wonderful friend, and I will always cherish knowing him.

I extend my condolences to Hashke's wife Kaye and his children, the ones who will truly feel his loss.

53. RickNelson - 11/15/2000 3:04:10 PM

Irv, Your comments have added much.

The link to Hashké's poetry is being extensively updated. Also, his many encouragements are being added to other poet links.

54. PelleNilsson - 11/15/2000 3:07:59 PM

Irv

A very moving post. Thank you.

Do you think Mrs Hashké is able to follow this (I mean can she log in to the Mote?).

I felt close to him. This is a completely irrational thing to say of a man one has never met, but his warmth and enthusiasm made it so. I especially remember the gusto with which he attacked translations of verses from the Edda and from Swedish 19th century poets.

I recently had reason to go through a lot of his posts in Language and Poetry. When one reads them in sequence the most striking feature is their graciousness. Next comes the sharpness of his mind and, occasionally, of his pen. This gem is an example of the latter:

One uses wit sparingly when addressing the witless

Sometimes one forms a mental picture of a poster. For me hashké was the ageing Gary Cooper, a tall, kindly man with the weather-bitten skin and long stride of one who spends a lot of time outdoors.

55. PelleNilsson - 11/15/2000 3:11:16 PM

I posted the above before I saw the photo. I may have been wrong in the details but not in the essence.

Hashké's short stories and poetry (thanks Rick) are now linked in Mote Links.

56. Indiana Jones - 11/15/2000 3:11:21 PM

Handsome picture.

Well done, Irv (46-48).

57. PelleNilsson - 11/15/2000 3:23:15 PM

But let's not fill this thread to the brim with sadness only.

In one of the first posts in this thread sto^3 wrote:

If it wasn't for him, I would never have known the (allegedly) Norwegian (alleged) expression 'to shit in the blue cupboard'.

Here is that exchange between hashke and the Herringistas with a punning epilogue.

1610. hashke - 11/25/99 8:08:06 PM
Nu har de skitit i det blå skåpet.

1621. PelleNilsson - 11/25/99 9:49:19 PM
hashke

It is not a Swedish idiom. (But "hal som en ål is", indeed). It may be Norwegian, in which case it should exist in Danish too. We need the advice of sto^3. But he has been lazy lately.

1624. stostosto - 11/25/99 10:31:29 PM
pellehashke
Vad pratar ni om? (What are you taking about?, Pelle's edit) Vilket är ett idiom på norska och danska? Att "skita i det blå skåpet", eller "hal som en ål"? (Eller "hal som en ål is(????)"?)

Jag fattar inte ett dugg. (I don't understand a thing, Pelle's edit)

1627. PelleNilsson - 11/25/99 10:53:32 PM
sto

Egentligen fattar jag inte ett dugg heller. (I don't get it either, Pelle's edit)

But my impression was that hashke claims that "skita i det blå skåpet" is idiom.

It is definitely not Swedish idiom. But hashke has earlier confessed that Norwegian was his first foray into Scandinavian languages.

I assumed then that it might be a Norwegian idiom, and since Norwegian is essentially Danish (hope no Norwegian lurkers around), you would be able to help out.

If you also don't recognise "skita i det blå skåpet" as idiom, hashke has a bit of explaining to do.

58. rubberducky - 11/15/2000 3:24:47 PM

Toys

59. PelleNilsson - 11/15/2000 3:27:48 PM

1628. stostosto - 11/25/99 11:00:16 PM
pelle
That expression is not known to me. But it's a powerful one, we just need a meaning of it.

So, hashke has "confessed" that Norwegian was his first encounter with Scandinavian languages, has he? How did you extort that embarassing admission from him? Did you pun him to surrender?

1629. PelleNilsson - 11/25/99 11:16:41 PM
My punning powers are limited. But I prodded him with the Edda and he confessed immediately. And who wouldn't?

For lurkers

The phrase we are discussing "att skita i det blå skåpet" means "to defecate in the blue cupboard".

As sto says it is very powerful, very symbolic. Think of "after receiving the news from the front he defecated in the blue cupboard".

But, again agreeing with sto, what does it mean?

1630. stostosto - 11/25/99 11:36:14 PM
pelle
'skita' means 'defecate'? I'd have said 'shit'.

But perhaps you'd rather shit in the blue cupboard than say a thing like that?

1631. PelleNilsson -11/26/99 12:01:57 AM
Yes. I'm a very delicate nature in these matters.

But I think we are on the verge of coining a great new cyber acronym: ISITBC, I Shat In The Blue Cupboard. Think of:

ISITBC when I saw [name of candidate] on the [name of host] show.

1632. hashke - 11/26/99 7:08:53 AM
Pellestostosto:

Veldig drolig! Ni är dråpliga karlar med en stor sinne för humor, och en instinktiv känsla för hur något hänger ihop -- tvärtemot vad som påstås om skandanavienar. Jag anada att skita i det blå skåpet var snarlik tysk Blödsinn treiben, fransk faire l'imbécile, och spansk hacer el tonto.

60. PelleNilsson - 11/15/2000 3:35:23 PM

1634. stostosto - 11/26/99 9:55:37 AM
There is a Danish expression: "Vil du skide i havet", ca.: "Why don't you go shit in the sea". It's primarily used to express disbelief, like "Get the fuck out of here". Or "Why don't you take a shit in the blue cupboard".....?

1636. stostosto - 11/26/99 6:37:44 PM
hashke

Gå hjem og vug din gamle mor på kanten af en teske.

1637. hashke - 11/26/99 9:35:22 PM
stosto:

Jag tror att det är dansk. Kansje är det som 'gå hjem och duk din gamle mor på bord (?) af en tesked'?????

1648. stostosto -11/27/99 2:05:27 PM
hashke

Gå hjem og vug din gamle mor på kanten af en teske

Go home and rock your old mother at the edge of a teaspoon.

1649. alistairconnor - 11/27/99 2:45:03 PM
Words fail me tonight.

1650. hashke - 11/27/99 4:08:49 PM
stostosto:

Hoa antzerrak perretzera. (Basque)

Go shoe the goose with irons.


1984. hashke - 12/15/99 6:40:39 PM
Irv:

I sense that Pelle does not find appealing or compelling my use of his appellation in making little puns, so I'll stop, not wishing to become the appellee in an appellate action.

He keeps his eye strictly on the ball, i.e., business.

1985. PelleNilsson - 12/15/99 6:56:48 PM
I'm not apelled at all but as you know I'm severely pun challenged.

Here is a good example of faux amis:

From axe to limp.

1986. PelleNilsson - 12/15/99 8:42:36 PM
In fact I felt so bumfuzzled that I swole up and had to go shit in the blue cupboard.

61. PelleNilsson - 11/15/2000 3:37:01 PM

1988. hashke - 12/15/99 9:53:07 PM
Pelle:

Haahahahaha! Ah, that ole blåskåp.

I've been meaning to suggest to triple-sto an even better way than 'gå hjelpe din gamle mor...' to tell someone to get lost. It is Russian:

Idi slonu yaitsa kachat' -- 'go swing an elephant's balls'.

Explain that faux amis, pliz.


The end

62. Angel-Five - 11/15/2000 3:37:01 PM

There is a Richard Shelton poem that has always made me think of Hashke, and I hope it isn't amiss to include it here.

Desert
by Richard Shelton

Sometimes the sun is still trying
to get to the horizon
when a daylight moon comes up,
fragile and almost transparent,
the ghost of a white bird
with damaged wings,
blown from its course and lost
in the huge desert sky.
It is the least protected
of all unprotected things.
A little wind goes by
through the greasewood
heading home to its nest
among blue-veined stones
where it will circle three times
and curl up to sleep
before darkness falls
straight down
like a tile from the roof
of a tall building.
There are families of stones
under the ground.
As the young stones grow
they rise slowly like moons.
When they reach the surface
they are old and holy
and when they break open
they give off a rich odor,
each blooming once in the light
after centuries of waiting.
Those who have lived here longest
and know best
are least conspicuous.
The oldest mountains are lowest
and the scorpion sleeps all day
beneath a broken stone.
If I stay here long enough
I will learn the art of silence.
When I have given up words
I will become what I have to say.

It's maybe a bit ironic, because Hashke paid so much attention to words, that I would think of him in this poem. But there was something deeper than words in his wordplay and the haunting lyrical beauty of his poetry. Many people have remarked upon what a good heart he had, and though he'll be remembered for his punning tears throughout the threads, I'll remember him as a man of heart, who knew best and was least conspicuous. He blessed us with his presence. It's my true hope that Hashke has become what he had to say.

63. PelleNilsson - 11/15/2000 3:38:00 PM

Un-toy.

64. stostosto - 11/15/2000 4:01:38 PM

Pelle

Hashke really had a highly passable Scandiwegian. Amazing, that's what he was.

Irv,

I am so glad you took time to deliver those posts. I always sensed you and him had a special relationship. Also thank you for that picture. He is even more hashke-like than I imagined. A handsome bugger.

65. ycmeehan - 11/15/2000 4:14:39 PM

Such beautiful, moving tributes from all of you.
I am listening to Hashke's voice in the archives looking for his puns especially because he loved to make them.

3895. hashke - April 6, 1999 - 6:29 AM PT
CalGal:

I checked out the Language Archives link. Very well done!

But I see no puns, Madame.

Are puns not language? If we prick them do they not breed?

If we tickle them do they not chaff.
---------------------------------------------------------------
His French puns for Pseudo and Irv: Sousd'eau and Cenoeuddegrace

66. MsIvoryTower - 11/15/2000 4:17:21 PM

Ah, what sad news to see upon opening the Mote.

I knew Hashke for a long time, not well, but as comrades in the great cyberspace communication adventure. I've been fortunate to have known some truly brilliant men in my life, and Hashke stands among them. As an aspiring scholar, I always saw him as a shining example of what is best in academia, and the spirits it can foster. He was an inspiration, model, and a man with true unity of heart and mind.

Hashke's posts were always a delight to me, and even when I couldn't understand a word of them, I felt his sense of joy in the telling. I will miss his contributions here. His space will be hard to fill.


My thoughts and condolences are extended to his wife and family.

67. stostosto - 11/15/2000 4:18:04 PM

"Sousd'eau and Cenoeuddegrace"

Hahahaha!

I had never seen those.

68. ycmeehan - 11/15/2000 4:29:27 PM

Yours was troistoasts, Sto

69. theDiva - 11/15/2000 4:31:24 PM

In Hashke's creative and capable hands, punning was the highest form of humor. I remember one particular run which concerned eggs, lasted nearly an hour, and left me helpless with laughter.

70. bloodnfire - 11/15/2000 4:48:37 PM

Triple-Sto. Your Message # 9. "My doubts, I think, stem mostly from the fact that I have such a fumbling, bumbling, insecure shyness when confronted with death. I think it's so difficult to know how to conduct oneself. In a way it's like being alone with a woman whom you are secretly madly in love with. You don't know what to say or do, and you feel that everything you do say and do comes out completely wrong and reflects extremely badly on your persona. There. That came out completely wrong"

No dear friend, that came out completely right, and I know exactly how you feel. Farewell, dear Hashke. What a privilege to sit at this large round table with you, and others like you. We'll leave your seat vacant. You will be sorely missed. Our love and thanks to your dear wife for sharing you with us from time to time.

71. marjoribanks - 11/15/2000 5:06:17 PM

I find it difficult to accept that Pak Hashke will not be here to encourage my own silly punster endeavors. But more than that, his offerings here have inspired and comforted me.

It is perhaps impossible to know someone on-line. But I have known and relished and cavorted with our Pak Hashke. And so I (and we) are suffering a genuine loss.

Pak Hashke, you were one of a kind. I've missed you, although you Navaho'd me say it.

72. ilyavinarsky - 11/15/2000 5:09:52 PM

I did not have much contact with Mr. Wilson, but I apologize for once calling him kakashké.

73. marjoribanks - 11/15/2000 5:14:54 PM

I most relish the Pak Hashke stories about growing up in a small town. I also loved his hostile interventions in the TT thread that we established when the Fray collapsed. Jeez, an aggressive Pak Hashke - it was glorious. Ilya has reminded me of it.

74. grannypatsy - 11/15/2000 5:41:13 PM

What s sad thread to open to. I share the sense of loss ecpressed here and think it quite fitting that in leaving us he seem to have united fragrants abd noties alike.
My deepest sympathy to his wife and family and the many people who love him.

75. Webfeet - 11/15/2000 5:42:08 PM

Hashke was lightyears ahead of me, and so I mainly admired him from afar, especially his brilliant anecdotes and stories. I may have made fun of him once for one of his infamous puns, but that's like having a gnat fly into your mouth while you're driving. You swallow it and don't really notice.

Logging on today, I gasped audibly when I saw this thread. I find his death very sobering and sad. He was a very playful spirit and I shall miss his lighthearted wit.

76. marshame - 11/15/2000 5:43:30 PM

I first encountered Hashke in the Fray when Irv encouraged me to enter the Language thread when I was overcome with the need to speak Spanish. Even though I consider myself fluent, Hashke went immediately and easily into a complex conversation with me that had me diving for my Spanish/English dictionary!

I'm so glad Irv posted his picture in Message # 48. When I first saw it in the Fray, I was quite struck by his handsomeness and his warm and genial smile. So I ventured into one of my few attempts at cyber-flirtation. Hashke politely, gently, but firmly let me know he had a wonderful woman in his life, as well as a wonderful dog in his life (who was the point of our Spanish conversation!)

I always thought he was amazingly patient, kind, gentle, and absolutely brilliant. I have never met anyone with a facility for languages like him. Not only could he absorb languages, but he loved words, and of course this made him the master punster and inspiration for many running jokes in the Fray and the Mote.

Kaye, I'm so sorry for your loss. But oh, how you must have been blessed to have had him in the flesh. We enjoyed him (most of us, anyway) only this medium of the Internet.

God bless you and comfort you at this sad time.

77. alistairconnor - 11/15/2000 6:04:32 PM

We were privileged to have him among us. A great scholar, poet, humanist, wit, story teller, and not least... aviator.

Bon vent, mon ami... How's the view from up there?

78. arkymalarky - 11/15/2000 6:46:17 PM

I just read this as Gore came on to speak to the nation, and the clarity of what is really important came right then and there. How I can have tears now for someone whom I've never met in person and whom I didn't get to talk with nearly enough in three years is a testament to the wonder of the new age of communication. It has enriched my life more than I realized.

I will miss you and your posts, Hashke--always interesting and fun, never rancorous, and often allowing a view for people like myself, who didn't know you well, of a fascinating life. Thank you for sharing yourself with us, and bless your family.

79. stostosto - 11/15/2000 6:49:20 PM

marj #73

It was cazart who got to feel hashke's wrath, wasn't it? I was quite surprised at that display.

80. Fraaankster - 11/15/2000 7:02:07 PM

(Shoot!I don't know how I missed this thread earlier when I stopped by ?)

Very moving postings from all of you wonderful folk. They reveal a great deal about this wonderful man, and how he connected with each and everyone of us. Irv's tribute was particularly moving and inspiring. Hashke's loss has created a tremendous void.

Rest in peace, friend.

81. Jack Vincennes - 11/15/2000 7:23:08 PM

My condolences to his family and all who knew him better. From reading this thread, I missed a great deal.

82. Uzmakk - 11/15/2000 7:32:29 PM

What a sad surprise. I liked Hashke and will genuinely miss him. I had no idea that his sickness was so serious.

83. ecclesiastes - 11/15/2000 9:45:42 PM

5:18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

5:19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.

5:20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

84. sakonige - 11/15/2000 11:34:51 PM

I'm glad that I once had the opportunity to defend his most beloved personal enterprise -- the preservation of the Navajo language & culture --when it was dismissed by someone as the ethnologist's futile vanity. Hashke's labour of love was devoted to the Navajo people, and I hope they appreciate what he's done for them.

They will.

85. concerned - 11/16/2000 12:02:15 AM

I'm sorry to see Hashke go.

86. PelleNilsson - 11/16/2000 5:37:59 AM

Hashke's last book. It is quite amusing with equivalents of many English idioms from many languages (with literal translations). There are even a couple of Swedish examples.



His bio as published by Amazon:

Alan Wilson was born in 1927. He holds degrees from Harvard and the University of Arizona and studied Arabic at the University of Utah and American University at Cairo, Egypt. He worked for the U.S. Intelligence Service as an interpreter and translator of Russian, was a member of the Harvard Faculty, was a Professor of Modern Languages at UNM Gallup Branch where he taught French, Spanish, German and Serbo-Croation, and taught at Navajo Community College. The author of twelve books, seven still in print, he has long been fascinated with languages and their interrelationships.

87. marshame - 11/16/2000 8:51:10 AM

Thank you for that, Pelle.

88. altitude /w attitude - 11/16/2000 11:10:11 AM

What a way to meet someone. Is it post-humorously? My step-dad had the gift of pun. Maybe the joy of life goes with it. Hashke seems to have had all that and more. I will lurk on the edge, have sorrow at not having met this remarkable person, rejoice with those of you whose lives were enriched by his presence, offer condolences to his family and friends who have a hole in their hearts that can never be filled by anything else. Words seem to offer so little comfort when you hunger for a touch, a smile, a hug. Yet Hashke seemed to be able to do all of that with his words. Why not touch someone with your words today in memory of Hashke?

89. IrvingSnodgrass - 11/16/2000 11:22:33 AM

Why not touch someone with your words today in memory of Hashke?

Beautifully put, altitude. All of us knew Hashké through his words, and loved him through those words. The magic of Hashké will always live on in his words. Let him be an inspiration to all of us.

90. Adrianne - 11/16/2000 12:04:06 PM

I'm glad I stopped in today, even though doing so caused me grief.

Kaye, my heartfelt condolences on your loss. What a marvelous man he was.

91. sakonige - 11/16/2000 12:45:59 PM

My mom died five years ago today. As I started to tell him in my foco desnudo story, it was Hashke who first allowed me to see her Indianness in myself in the light of the computer monitor. Without intending to, he changed my life.

92. arkymalarky - 11/16/2000 9:26:44 PM

I was telling my dad about Hashke, and Dad had worked as a cryptanalyst for the National Security Agency and wondered if a young man who worked there that he'd heard about as having been amazing with languages might have been one and the same. He couldn't remember the name, it had been so long, but I found it interesting nonetheless, with Hashke's work with the US Intelligence Service and he and Dad being close to the same age.

93. Jenerator - 11/18/2000 10:59:02 AM

sakonige

I'm so sorry about your Mom. Those aniversaries never go away, and the loss of others (like Hashke) refresh our grief at our own losses. I guess that is one of the strongest things that binds and connects us as humans, that we can share one another's pain because we too have experiences that pain. My Dad died on February 8, 1972, and I still feel the loss. So my heart goes out to you, and to all of us who, through Hashke's passing, re-live other losses in our lives.

94. marshame - 11/18/2000 11:00:46 AM

That last post was from me, marshame. Jenerator was posting on my computer and I forgot to change the login. Sorry.

95. dusty - 11/18/2000 4:00:32 PM

I'm so sorry to hear the news about Hashké. When I think about the things that make the Mote special, #1 on my list is the opportunity to "meet", at least converse with people I wouldn't meet in RL. Hashké is one of the best examples. I will miss his contributions to the Language thread.

96. wonkers2 - 11/18/2000 4:06:52 PM

He brought us joy, and we loved him well.

97. LadyChaos - 11/18/2000 5:23:55 PM

I am very pleased -- indeed, honored -- that such a gifted man chose to share his talents with us in the sunset of his life. His ability with language was often so sly and subtle that I often found myself chuckling at first, then staring at my monitor in awe.

98. PelleNilsson - 11/19/2000 5:13:47 AM

Dear Pelle,

I logged into the mote and saw that you had already heard my sad news and told the others. Alan loved the language mote. Obviously, he loved to pun and couldn't quite resist trying to get the best of everyone. Hey, that added a great joy to his life in what has been a difficult battle. You gave him a window on Swedish and I find those poems you challenged him with around the house. Now as I look at the bookcase I see Indonesian and Hebrew--just a few challanges he found on that thread.

I thank you for your tribute. Thank the others as well. He shall be missed and I'll miss hearing from him about all of you.

Love, Kaye

99. NuPlanetOne - 11/19/2000 10:57:56 PM

/


Words. I live to manipulate and arrange and coerce them. Most always, if I wait long enough, they will assemble and hopefully I can choose the correct ones to articulate a nagging intimation or sudden observation which I must describe in order to find peace.

As it is the case with all of my acquaintances here in the Mote/Fray, except one, with whom I have communicated fairly regularly through e-mails from time to time, I was not bound to Hashke in any physical or personal way. Yet, he was one of us, we phantoms in the monitor. But we all must agree that there is a level of intimacy and interaction here that clearly qualifies as some form of direct and legitimate friendship. (Dislikes withstanding). And because I have known some of you for a long time now, whether lurking or in debate or in idle chat, it is through you as well as in myself that I feel the void. And through those who knew him well I feel the deeper sadness although I also celebrate that which you have shared posthumously and which has only added to my already admiring impression. Hopelessly the dilettante by comparison his scholarship was enviable and it was fun to lurk and learn and chuckle when, with urbane exactitude, he would settle upon a phrase that would deflate and defuse even the most acrimonious of disagreements.
/
Anyway, I am glad I did get to know him a bit through exchanges in the Poetry thread where I exist, and where he also had every right to exist as well. He wrote some excellent poetry. I wish there were more. So the words I choose now are goodbye Hashke, I will miss you in my machine and remember the many words you chose so often and so brilliantly to enlighten, amuse and instruct. Ciao.

100. ScottLoar - 11/19/2000 11:26:03 PM

Hashke. I respected him. He was a prince among us.

ScottLoar

101. cmboyce - 11/28/2000 1:50:03 AM

I have only just learned of Hashke's death, having been away so much in recent weeks. I knew he was sick, but not how sick. I am, like all the others whose remarks fill the Hashke Memorial thread, shocked by the news and perceptibly lessened in some sense by the absence of his words in my future.

Though I knew him only briefly and slightly, compared to others such as Irving (whose wonderful posts in the Memorial are greatly to be treasured), Hashke was one of the most impressive people I have ever encountered anywhere. It is remarkable indeed that he conveyed his steely gentleness, his remarkable scholarship, and most of all, his lovely sense of his world, so surely and convincingly in so meagre a medium as cybertype. I remember well the pleasure I always took in seeing his moniker in this thread, and in others (especially Language), knowing that in a few clicks I would be rewarded with some Hashke.

He was a great man and a great poet, writing as he did from his great heart (I hope that among his books were collections of poems), and (if it is not too late and someone can do it), I would like to add to the Memorial my sympathies to his family and friends irl, for I know their loss is immense. There can have been few like him.

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