[CW] Alan Wormser, N5LF, SK

[Fred Adsit]

What a blow. I came back here to a series of messages, started by Nancy WZ8C
and details filled in by David, N1EA. I knew Alan well, and would like to
comment on his life and his passing. This won't be eloquent. Eloquence was
Alan's forte, as I shall bring up shortly. Alan was a bit dislexic, by the
way. It showed in his typing, at times, but when it was critical,
spell-checking saved the day. His website - see below - is an example of
careful typing. I found one transposition of characters. There may be more,
but to me, it was what he said and how he said it that made the site a real
standout. It is about ham radio, but a surprise of sorts is located at Other
Interests. It's the rest of Alan's story.

Back when we were involved with the Wormser-Adsit-Dinelli filing with the
FCC, Alan was married to Karynn, and had moved from Texas to the Washington,
DC area at the request of his employer. It was hard finding a home, but they
managed. Here is Alan's website, created in that time frame.
http://www.qsl.net/n5lf/ . Why not go to all the links at the Other
Interests and in the links section. You will find out what a well-rounded
fellow Alan was.

The now-somewhat-famous W-A-D filing can be found here...
http://www.qsl.net/n9bor/petrec5.htm . At the time, it was about the only
substantive retort to the FCC-intended Restructuring. The writing as I
recall was almost entirely Alan's. He was an expert at that, and I found
myself marching in lockstep with Alan on all but some very minor points. I
felt a bit guilty at the time, almost rubber-stamping what Alan wrote, but
after all, it was a collaborative effort, and a unified stand was taken.
That it failed is sad, I feel, but what we had to say is a testament to what
we thought should have been done, but was not done. It feels good to be a
part of ham radio's conscience and history. Even though many disagreed with
our stand, nobody criticized the logic and thoroughness of it. It was easy
reading. Again, that was primarily Alan's doing.

Alan and I had a lot of side communications about everything from playing GO
to the details of his personal life. One day he said he was coming up to
Verona, NY to see the Oneida Indian Nation (creators of what is now the
Turning Stone Casino and Resort). The trip was an example of his job with
DOD/USArmy/National Guard Bureau - he is (was) in the DOD phone book listed
by his name. We decided to meet. I went over to his hotel overlooking the
Vernon Downs racetrack, and got a look at his laptop computer and the view
of the track, a place that was less than an hour from Syracuse but which I
had never seen. We went out to a local steakhouse for a late dinner, and
talked, and talked, and talked some more. It was a truly memorable evening.
Alan kept his appointments. I am happy he kept that one. I knew him even
better by chatting person-to-person.

Alan had diabetic health issues that carried with them a high probability of
complications, his recent death being one of those, although I doubt
anybody, Alan included, predicted what actually happened. He led a full
life. He cared about his own life, but he had a passion for caring for the
lives of others, in many walks of life. It may not be politically correct to
say this, but I will.. I believe he surely is with God now. He was such a
decent gentleman. He packed more into every day than most of us can muster.

When I was having a serious and dangerous series of coronary artery
blockages, a precursor to open heart surgery on a weekend in 2004, it was
Alan who insisted, as we communicated via e-mail, that I call 911, never
mind the weekend. I had little time to live, as it turned out. That call,
and the rather hairy and daring bypass operation that came as a result,
literally saved my life.

Alan, a lot of people here valued your acquaintance and camaraderie. We miss
you, and always will. God Bless,

Fred Adsit NY2V
ny2v at twcny.rr.com
16 Aug 05