[Fists] 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

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Subject: Re: [Fists] Alan Wormser, N5LF, SK