I, too, will miss Rob Bernardo. Although I really didn't know him very well it seemed to me that I must, since he, like Steve, Jess, Max, and several others, have been part of my portable community for such a long time. I used to run into him at conferences occasionally, and then there was that time that I was the only woman at a party at his house (where I became consciously aware that anybody who thinks that homosexuality has anything at all to do with compromised masculinity hasn't ever been in a similar situation). We also used to exchange email about horses and country music from time to time.
Part of the reason that I liked Rob so much was his prickly personality -- an attribute that I always find appealing. He used to throw the readers of rec.music.country-western into fits of indignation on a regular basis by things like complaining about Ricky Skaggs making homophobic comments at a concert, and suggesting that sexism may be the reason why there were separate country music awards for men and women. He never actually said that he enjoyed getting all those people riled, but it was my impression that he did.
Goodbye, Rob. We miss you already.
