Well, I had suspected something was wrong this past year as I had not heard from our Heartland friend Harold Lefty Frizzell. A few weeks ago, I sent emails out to every email address I've ever had for Lefty and they all bounced. Last night I messaged Lefty's daughter Laura via Facebook.
Laura confirmed that Lefty had passed on 9-October-2011.
I don't know Lefty's whole story, but for those of you who knew him a bit, he was quite a character. He was a proud Veteran. He lived in a Bighorn in Virginia with a couple of beloved dogs. He lost a leg due to illness and had been working with the V.A. on a prosthetic leg. He worked on this for the few years I knew him.
Lefty had a very strong bond with his Vet buddies. One by one, he was losing them and he was really saddened over that. The last time we spoke, I think he only had one Vet pal left. Lefty was passionate about Vets and Veteran rights. He was a bit of an expert on knowing how to help fellow Vets with programs and benefits due them. Because Lefty was now disabled due to the missing limb, he was also a bit of an advocate for the disabled and he was quite learned on assistave/adaptive products for the disabled. At some point, I decided it was time to leverage Lefty's knowledge and energy to the benefit of a larger audience. I asked Lefty to create and manage our Handicampers section of the forum. He programmed it with a lot of information on products, services and benefits. I think he helped a few people with this forum. I hope this forum will be taken over by another person who is passionate in these areas.
While he worked with the V.A. on the new leg, he lived in his Bighorn and dreamed of the day he'd hitch it up to his new truck and hit the road. He did many modifications to his coach to make it more compatible with his lifestyle. He also spoke fondly of Texas and his desire to go back there. I'd hoped to meet him in Texas one day.
Lefty loved his dogs. All dogs really. I know he liked mine. He loved to watch mine on my webcam over our dogs' pen. He call me or email me if something didn't look right Ruby was his favorite. He noticed once that Ruby wasn't walking right. At the time, he didn't know she had a knee problem. He was so worried about her. He actually once offered to pay for her to have knee surgery. Every time we spoke, he always asked "How's my dog?"
About once a quarter, when I could spare an hour, I'd call Lefty to catch up. He told me the latest on his RV remodeling efforts. He had to rely on others a lot and he complained a lot about those he could get to do work on the RV. He loved to talk about his Vet friends. Most of the stories were sad. I recall speaking to him right after he lost one. He really sounded depressed. He'd tell me about his daughter Laura - she was the light of his life. He loved that kid something fierce. He told me he raised her. They had a special and very strong bond. He always told me what his dogs were up to.
Well, that about all I can say about my friend Lefty. He was quite the dude and he will be missed.
See ya Lefty!
Laura confirmed that Lefty had passed on 9-October-2011.
I don't know Lefty's whole story, but for those of you who knew him a bit, he was quite a character. He was a proud Veteran. He lived in a Bighorn in Virginia with a couple of beloved dogs. He lost a leg due to illness and had been working with the V.A. on a prosthetic leg. He worked on this for the few years I knew him.
Lefty had a very strong bond with his Vet buddies. One by one, he was losing them and he was really saddened over that. The last time we spoke, I think he only had one Vet pal left. Lefty was passionate about Vets and Veteran rights. He was a bit of an expert on knowing how to help fellow Vets with programs and benefits due them. Because Lefty was now disabled due to the missing limb, he was also a bit of an advocate for the disabled and he was quite learned on assistave/adaptive products for the disabled. At some point, I decided it was time to leverage Lefty's knowledge and energy to the benefit of a larger audience. I asked Lefty to create and manage our Handicampers section of the forum. He programmed it with a lot of information on products, services and benefits. I think he helped a few people with this forum. I hope this forum will be taken over by another person who is passionate in these areas.
While he worked with the V.A. on the new leg, he lived in his Bighorn and dreamed of the day he'd hitch it up to his new truck and hit the road. He did many modifications to his coach to make it more compatible with his lifestyle. He also spoke fondly of Texas and his desire to go back there. I'd hoped to meet him in Texas one day.
Lefty loved his dogs. All dogs really. I know he liked mine. He loved to watch mine on my webcam over our dogs' pen. He call me or email me if something didn't look right Ruby was his favorite. He noticed once that Ruby wasn't walking right. At the time, he didn't know she had a knee problem. He was so worried about her. He actually once offered to pay for her to have knee surgery. Every time we spoke, he always asked "How's my dog?"
About once a quarter, when I could spare an hour, I'd call Lefty to catch up. He told me the latest on his RV remodeling efforts. He had to rely on others a lot and he complained a lot about those he could get to do work on the RV. He loved to talk about his Vet friends. Most of the stories were sad. I recall speaking to him right after he lost one. He really sounded depressed. He'd tell me about his daughter Laura - she was the light of his life. He loved that kid something fierce. He told me he raised her. They had a special and very strong bond. He always told me what his dogs were up to.
Well, that about all I can say about my friend Lefty. He was quite the dude and he will be missed.
See ya Lefty!