we love dhawk
A lot of us love David Hawkins.
Me, I fell in love with him in some new way I didn't quite understand
sometime in 1990, when I was first coming on to the WELL. He was the
system administrator, with the evocative name of dhawk, both his account name
and his spoken moniker when wellfolk gathered. He was the UNIX wizard, the
Picospan conferencing elf behind the curtain. I attributed more of the
collective magic to him than I should have, but also less. Later I said
it was sort of like transference or a crush, but that's silly. I have to
admit that I simply came to love the guy.
I wrote him
all kinds of strange notes during my first year on The WELL, my cyber
exploration year, and he ignored the peculiar ones, but answered
technical questions as I determined that I would figure out what
made the place tick. And decode the secrets of the human psyche as a
little bonus while we were at it.
David brought a lot of magic to the WELL, inside the box, in the coding
and in the word space, in our lives... it is a very magical place.
David and the box...Photo by John Coate, full credits at
http://www.well.com/conf/welltales/photos.html
He's a genuine historic figure, one of the cultural-technical renaissance
folks who let the WELL bloom. I want all of his friends, from other parts
of his life, to know that. But my memories are more personal.
I wrote this gushing, sincere birthday note to him when he turned 40. I
was then WELL staff, and he was former WELL sysadmin, still a conference host.
And the term "host of hosts" means nothing specific, simply admiration for
his talent.
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992
happy birthday, David.
you are shining and glorious with all of the mystery of my personal Well
and Unix journey, and tho this be projection, it suits you very Well...
and since it was always clear to me that there was hero-worship going
on, getting to know you better has enriched rather than tarnished my
appreciation for you. It's an honor and a blessing to know you.
a word: the term "Unix Wizard" - my original take on it was very Lord of
the Rings, very much of the struggle to be a "white wizard," very
idealized.... the shamanic path, to be anthropologic about it... and
because you are so intuitive and compassionate, you were able to fit this
rather lofty role for me, and to not dissappoint, despite times of not
replying to my opaque email.
I'm profoundly inspired and awed by your legacy, and very very happy that
you are still here, as much the Host of Hosts as is anyone in this
gaggle of souls with authority issues!!!
Happy happy 40... may it be a fabulous day... and a fortuitous
watershed!
love,
g
He took all that hero worship, spiritual confusion and puppylike affection in
stride, and let me become a friend as we came to know each other's
faults. (Thanks, David, you're a fine, good sport.)
Now David's gravely ill. He tells his story at http://www.river.org/~dhawk
where he also has some great quotes, favorite authors, and other aspects
of self-portrait. He's a shy person who is living out his life very
publically.
On the WELL we send beams to him. (Beams might sound silly --
but sending energy, light, love and prayer in any form is our WELL tradition.
It lets a lot of us participate in an ongoing circle of care, when some
who care deeply might not have been able to use the traditional word,
prayer.)
Every day we send love, to David and to Corinne.
Beams sent, with the loading of this page.
-Gail Williams
June 20, 2000