Average Joe - On Eternal Patrol
Some very sad news arrived in my email today - fellow Subsimmer Matt "Average Joe" Chandler passed away on March 20th, 2006.
I first met Matt in the mid 90s on GE's old GEnie online system after becoming intrigued with the Digital Integration/Microprose sim Tornado. Matt was a member of the "Dirty Twisters", a small group who had developed a method of flying a mission in Tornado's single player campaign, writing up an after action report, and passing along the saved mission files to the next member to continue the campaign. Flying this way gave a whole new life to the sim, which had no online multiplayer mode. The real heart of the sim wasn't just the game, it was interacting with the articulate and fun bunch of guys who made up the core of the group. Their after action reports made that old sim come alive, and I was soon a part of the "DT" round robin email list. Our last mission in Tornado was played out long ago, but we've been exchanging emails over the last decade about other games, our jobs, families, and life in general. We must have sent thousands of messages during good times and bad over the years.
The volume of our correspondence would ebb and flow with happenings in our lives. It wasn't unusual for us to sometimes go weeks without emailing one another, then have a sudden flood of messages coming in so fast that it almost seemed like communicating in real time. Given those circumstances, having a message bounce from Matt's mailbox after sending out a group mail after a long dry spell wasn't too surprising. Matt was probably as busy with his work life as I had been with mine. As the messages continued to bounce, another member of our group tried to contact him via telephone and fax. Both were disconnected. His subsequent Google search turned up this excerpt from an online memorial page:
"Matthew Chandler was a quiet man, with a penchance for solitude, and
enjoyed spending time on his computer. ...
Matthew worked as an embroidery pattern maker, working out of his home
in Coopersville. Although he liked solitude, Matthew did enjoy the
company of his dogs. His latest companion was a lab, named Rufus. Rufus
and Matthew had been together for almost 14 years. When work was done,
Matthew could usually be found at his computer, his favorite pastime. Mr.
Matthew J. Chandler, aged 48, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, March
20, 2006."
Many of you knew Matt as avid SH3 skipper and sound modder Average Joe. Some may remember him from various flight sim forums as "Teehole". I knew him as both, and placed a great deal of value on his friendship. Matt was an easygoing, positive guy who was always ready to lend a hand, spin a story that would make me chuckle, and just generally chat about the ordinary things that make up day to day living.
Matt, you'll be missed greatly. You left too soon and too young, and you left many good friends in your wake.
Fair winds and following seas, old friend.
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