i've been thinking about how much i learned from my friend Hessel, who has recently passed away.
i didn't ask him any personal questions about his life, but i think he was roughly the same age as me. i don't have much to go on for this, but perhaps we did talk about our respective ages, perhaps not. we spent many hours online modifying a boat that i had bought. there were times that i hated the fact that i had to spend so many hours on the modifications, as this meant depriving me of my afternoon naps on Saturdays. but he was always so keen and so hard-working, and always had a terrific eye for detail.
the wiper blades he designed for my yacht were super detailed, even down to the ball bearings and rubber blades, not to mention the articulated pantographic arms.
he was familiar with Hergé's world of Tintin. in RL, he comes, no, came from the town of Scheveningen, in the Netherlands. or, at least, he lived near there.
he taught me a great deal about building in SL, not that i displayed much interest in building in the first place. for me, it was more politely listening to him, instead of taking an active interest. but i think he honestly was trying to teach me how to build. he taught me about how rotating hinges are made to work, how textures are mapped and fine-tuned, and about basic stuff like selecting a large number of objects all at once. i'm sure there are many many other things i learned from him, but i can't remember right now because my mind is still so numb.
Hessel loved yachts in SL. ironically, i think i recall him telling me once that his brother was the one who was keen on nautical jargon, but not him. but he loved yachts.
i haven't decided what to do with my incompletely modified yacht - the Raymaker VII. i know that Hessel would have loved to see it complete. i guess i will try my best to do it, but i need some time to mourn.
in the meantime, i'm expecting delivery of a motorboat - the Barracuda 60 by Maximilian Milosz (RL: Tor Karstensen). originally, it was to have been christened Raymaker V. i've asked Maximilian to christen her the Dora II instead.
the Dora was Hessel's own yacht. it was where i first met Hessel, when i asked him whether i could buy his helm-stand.
i went by to the marina today. to my surprise, the Dora is still there. Hessel's rental hasn't expired yet, although it will, soon. i thought i was over the teary-eyes, but seeing the Dora (for perhaps the last time) in its berth was too much for me.
