Re: Looks like we lost Doug van Veelen

I'm really sorry to hear this news, though I will admit I was half expecting it. I never actually met Doug in person, but we had some friendly exchanges online. Then sometime last year, following his previous hospitalization, Doug and I exchanged telephone numbers and then proceeded to play "phone tag" for a while, during which we never seemed to be able to reach each other at the right time. He seemed anxious to talk, as if he knew he was running out of time. I was busy and doing a fair amount of traveling during that period, but should have put some more effort into responding to Doug's calls. Around the end of February I realized I hadn't heard from him in a few weeks and got a very bad feeling about it and thought, "I should really try giving Doug a call again." I wish I had.

Doug seemed like a kind soul who had experienced a lot of pain and disappointment in his life, and could have used a friend.

-Philip Marshall