Rob “Acidman” Smith, R.I.P.

June 26th, 2006

courtesy of Chris Muir

One of the best bloggers I’ve known and respected has died.

There was no middle ground with Rob. He was plain-spoken, brutally honest, and unashamed to speak his mind over at Gut Rumbles — and did so with all the gusto one man could muster. He endured many hellish experiences in life that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemies — and did so with truth and dignity.

Misha sums up my thoughts at best regarding a friend whom I had hoped to meet in person for libation and conversation:

…[T]he hand that Rob got wasn’t a particularly good one. But he played it, to the best of his ability.

Robert M. Smith (1952-2006)Oh yes, he was rude, outspoken, at times downright obnoxious, but he was always true to himself. True to himself and honest to the point where it sometimes hurt. I admired that, even when some of the things he said made me cringe, because you always knew exactly where you had him. And beneath that rough veneer, beneath all of the raging against the fading of the light, there was a warm, loving man. Most of all I remember his posts about his love of his son, Quinton, in which the “softer side of Rob� shone through like a beacon.

That’s a side of him that I’ll remember well. A side of him that showed me and everybody else who cared to read that, no matter how much anger and frustration one man holds, there’s always more to a man that, that there is good as well as the bad and the ugly.

Some will remember him for the bad and the ugly, some will remember him for the good. I will remember him for all of it.

Because it was all him. He let it all hang out, that was his gift to anybody who cared, and I accept it all gratefully. Warts and all.

Deepest condolences are extended to his family and closest friends.

Farewell, A-man. I’ll definitely raise a glass of adult beverage in your memory.

Update (6/27): Memorial services have been scheduled for friends and family in the Savannah, GA area.


Filed under Blogosphere | Comments (2)

2 Responses to “Rob “Acidman” Smith, R.I.P.”

  1. Dean Esmay on June 27, 2006 June 27, 2006 - 2:47 am

    He leaves behind quite a void, doesn’t he?

  2. D.C. Thornton on June 27, 2006 June 27, 2006 - 8:38 pm

    Yes, he does. And what a vast and deep void it is.

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