vpFREE2 Forums

A Death in the VP Family

#1

It is with sadness that I must bring you the news of the death of John McKim. Many of you may remember this VP-loving couple, John and Steve, who were on these forums for many many years. Steve had passed away a year or so ago and his funeral was the last time I had seen John.

John died the way he would have wanted. On his last day on earth he played VP at the Rampart and then went home to go to bed. He died in his sleep.

We had known Steve and John ever since they moved from Cleveland to Las Vegas, how many years ago I don’t exactly remember. Actually we had corresponded before they moved here. John had written to ask me if I thought a gay couple would be accepted into the VP community of Skip’s Forum. I said that this was a very diverse and non-judgmental group of very nice people. And in the numerous get-togethers we had during those early years I never saw any evidence of prejudice.

Writing that last paragraph makes me long for the “good old days.” Back then we rarely had rudeness on the VP forum. If someone wrote a book related to gambling in general or VP in particular, this was a subject for congratulations and best wishes for its success. We weren’t all interested in every post, so we learned to just politely delete those that we figured didn’t pertain to our personal style of play. We had differing opinions about many issues, but we could discuss those issues and give our reasons for disagreeing, without insulting or attacking the persons who had opposing viewpoints.

Sigh.... Am I mistaken in the belief that the world, on and off the Internet, used to be a “kinder and gentler” place!! I guess this makes me look and feel old.

···

------------------------------------------
Jean $¢ott, Frugal Gambler
http://queenofcomps.com/
You can read my blog at
http://jscott.lvablog.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#2

I agree with you. I too miss the good old days, lots of great video poker, lots of easy comps, most posts were intelligent, people truly tried to help each other, without looking for something in return, and before SPAM became rampant. A.P.

···

From: "'Queen of Comps' queenofcomps@cox.net [vpFREE]" <vpFREE@yahoogroups.com>
To: vpmail2@yahoogroups.com; vpFREE <vpFREE@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2014 3:39 PM
Subject: [vpFREE] A Death in the VP Family
   
It is with sadness that I must bring you the news of the death of John McKim. Many of you may remember this VP-loving couple, John and Steve, who were on these forums for many many years. Steve had passed away a year or so ago and his funeral was the last time I had seen John.

John died the way he would have wanted. On his last day on earth he played VP at the Rampart and then went home to go to bed. He died in his sleep.

We had known Steve and John ever since they moved from Cleveland to Las Vegas, how many years ago I don’t exactly remember. Actually we had corresponded before they moved here. John had written to ask me if I thought a gay couple would be accepted into the VP community of Skip’s Forum. I said that this was a very diverse and non-judgmental group of very nice people. And in the numerous get-togethers we had during those early years I never saw any evidence of prejudice.

Writing that last paragraph makes me long for the “good old days.” Back then we rarely had rudeness on the VP forum. If someone wrote a book related to gambling in general or VP in particular, this was a subject for congratulations and best wishes for its success. We weren’t all interested in every post, so we learned to just politely delete those that we figured didn’t pertain to our personal style of play. We had differing opinions about many issues, but we could discuss those issues and give our reasons for disagreeing, without insulting or attacking the persons who had opposing viewpoints.

Sigh.... Am I mistaken in the belief that the world, on and off the Internet, used to be a “kinder and gentler” place!! I guess this makes me look and feel old.
------------------------------------------
Jean $¢ott, Frugal Gambler
http://queenofcomps.com/
You can read my blog at
http://jscott.lvablog.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

------------------------------------

------------------------------------

vpFREE Links: http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1955/20228/V/Links.htm

------------------------------------

Yahoo Groups Links

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#3

Writing that last paragraph makes me long for the “good old days.”

Back then we rarely had rudeness on the VP forum.

If someone wrote a

book related to gambling in general or VP in particular, this was a
subject for congratulations and best wishes for its success.

We weren’t all interested in every post, so we learned to just politely delete

those that we figured didn’t pertain to our personal style of play.

We had differing opinions about many issues, but we could discuss those issues and give our reasons for disagreeing, without insulting or attacking the persons who had opposing viewpoints.

Sigh....

Am I mistaken in the belief that the world, on and off the Internet,
used to be a “kinder and gentler” place!! I guess this makes me look
and feel old.

···

------------------------------------------
Jean $¢ott, Frugal Gambler

No, Jean, I don't think you're mistaken, about either the Internet or the "real" world. There used to be a certain set of moral principles that guided the vast majority of people, a difference between right and wrong. (Psychopaths and sociopaths need not apply) Watch "Judge Judy or most of the reality TV shows, and every day you'll see people openly stating things that we would have been ashamed of in the past: unmarried people living together, births outside of wedlock, scamming insurance companies or even your own relatives, and the like.

The rise of email, texts and tweets has replaced the thoughtful letter, where one would carefully consider what one wrote. A hurried, misguided email, thoughtlessly mis-expressing something you're not really feeling, can cause a years-long friendship to disappear overnight. And think about how you could detect and empathize with the other person's emotions so much better when you were talking to them on the phone, or heaven forfend, actually talking with someone face-to-face.

As for John and Steve, I didn't know them, but I truly miss any of our community when they leave us. To me there are some very real differences that actually matter: between those who like bonus games and those that don't, between the advantage players and those who are mere recreational players, between nickel, quarter and dollar players and those who play for really heavy stakes. Those differences matter because they affect the writer's perspective on VP. Not that any one is better or worse than the other, they're just different. IMHO, differences in race, religion, country of national origin, politics, sexual orientation and probably about 30 other potential divisions don't and shouldn't play any part in VP discussions.

Just count me among the old (and occasionally grumpy) codgers. Who is a $1-2 player, who likes bonus games and is a recreational player.

Guru

Certainly the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you; if you don’t bet, you can’t win. -Lazarus Long
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is. -Yogi Berra
There is no such thing as luck. There is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe. -Robert Heinlein

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#4

Sigh.... Am I mistaken in the belief that the world, on and off the Internet, used to be a “kinder and gentler” place!! I guess this makes me look and feel old.

I don't remember any discussion forum on the Internet being kind or
gentle. There were some good fights on Skip's list.