Subject: Walt Whitman said it better than I can.

From: "Perry E. Metzger" <[email-masked]>
Date: 18 Oct 1998 16:54:40 -0400

O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is 
       won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and
       daring:

          But O heart! heart! heart!
             O the bleeding drops of red,
                Where on the deck my Captain lies,
                   Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up-for you the flag is flung-for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths-for you the shores
       a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces
       turning:

          Here Captain! dear father!
             This arm beneath your head;
                It is some dream that on the deck,
                   You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse or will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and
       done;
>From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won:

          Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
             But I with mournful tread,
                Walk the deck my Captain lies,
                   Fallen cold and dead.

---

From: "Robert (Bob) J. Aiken" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 11:03:33 -0700

Karl

At 08:59 AM 10/19/98 PDT, Vince Fuller wrote:
>> I wondered how long it would take for people to try to canonize Postel the
>> then use this to drive home flawed, paternalistic, insular and monopolistic
>> policies.
>> 
>> I was not disappointed.
>
>And neither was I, nor I expect the rest of the community, unsurprised by
>the promptness of your crass spew. Congratulations, Karl, you've truely
>outdone yourself in what appearst to be a paranoia-inspired effort to besmirch
>the reputation of a true Internet hero. Of all people, he least deserves this
>sort of posthumous crap. I try to avoid posting on NANOG because of the
>extremely poor signal-to-noise ration, but this time, I can't just sit and
>watch this.

I am a VIW (veteran of Internet wars) since the mid 80's. I have known and
had the pleasure of working with Jon since 1988.  I have long abstained from
joining the word and insult slinging that has gone on for a long time on
many mailing lists,especially those dealing with IANA, except once during
the formation of ISOC. I was raised to speak with action, and do it in a
civilized manner.  There were many times I agreed Jon and sometimes I
disagreed with Jon; however, I never ever doubted Jon's intent on doing the
best for the Internet as a whole and his integrity.  Many of those who have
bashed Jon personally because they did not agree with him should grow up-
act professional if you want to be taken seriously.  I saw all of the "I
knew Jon" messgaes and promised not abstain from the same , but I cold no
longer refrain from asking (as I think did Fred Baker) , in honor of of a
fallen comrade who has given so much to the Internet and its way of life,
that all of us leave the political and personal attacks and paranoia out of
our celebration of Jon's life and what he did- please.

thanks.

bob

back to stealth mode.

resiste any temptation to bash to cannonize Jon. We should  

>
>I did not know Jon well but have grown to respect him, his dedication, and
>his judgement during my 16+ years of involvement with the deployment of
>various pieces of the 'net. I felt honored when Jon first greeted me by name,
>not so many IETF's ago; it made me feel that I had finally "arrived" after
>being a "newbie" in the Internet community for so many years.
>
>Jon Postel did more for the Internet community than virtually all of the
>combined wannabe "experts" that inhabit this foul domain known as the NANOG
>list. The varied accusations of arrogance and monopolistic intent are simple
>lunacy, apparent to anyone who has even taken a cursory glance at all of
>the hard work that Jon put in, all in the name of "doing the right thing".
>
>I hope that wherever Jon is now that he is still able to observe the
>blossoming and growth of the seeds he planted even if he is no longer able
>to actively tend them with such dedication. That crop will nourish and
>outlive not only all of us but will provide essential sustinance for many
>generations of "netizens" yet to come.
>
>Thank you and bless you, Jon.
>
>	--Vince
>
>
>

CISCO SYSTEMS  Bob Aiken, Internet Business Development Manager
  :     :      Advanced Internet Initiatives Division 
.:|:...:|:..  6519 Debold Rd., Sabillasville, Md. 21780,USA  
1-301-271-2919(v),1-800-365-4578(pager), [email-masked]
"Nec Temere, nec Timide" ( "Neither rashly or timidly")