David Wales has recently passed (to png status) and I thought I'd create a thread where all of us who've been touched by his brief presence could come and say farewell.
His forum posting career began on January 7th, 2012 and ended abruptly February 6th, 2012. Cut tragically short by the ban stick. He wanted nothing but the best for Aces High, an endless source of information and ideas. I think the final count was over 200 additions offered, none accepted. Most people would have been dissuaded, taken the easier road, conformed. But not our david wales, he pressed on, simultaneously offering thoroughly researched ideas while making friends at every turn. A beacon of hope and light in complete darkness.
David was many things to me: friend, mentor, hero, and innovator. In the end he strayed too close to the Sun, an Icarus blinded by the purest of intentions and a community-before-self attitude. Machiavelli summed it up the best when he said, "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." And with that said I'd like to issue a warning to my fellow cartoon pilots, if we let stars who come to our community and shine so brightly get the axe, how long can we sustain ourselves? Not long my friends, not long. But hopefully David has stirred emotions in your hearts and things will go differently in the future.
So long David Wales, you were a champion of the people and hero to this community.
