Mad Mike sends the news that one of the good guys is gone: Sometimes, appearances in my books are auctioned off for charity. Sometimes, a friend or colleague tickles me in a certain way, and I ask if I can use them as a character. My friend Robert "Zig" Hensley appears in my new story "The Brute Force Approach" as a hull specialist. Zig was a former Navy diver supporting the SEAL teams (he was always very careful to insist he wasn't a SEAL himself). After a couple of injuries at depth, he was medically retired, and devoted his life to gunsmithing, good cigars and riding bikes. We never actually met in person, this being the 21st Century. We talked at length by phone and online about rifles, revolvers, military issues, shooting. We'd make plans to meet at various 3-gun matches, but didn't quite manage to get our schedules to work. Then came the news that on his way back from a ride in Stone Mountain, someone had changed lanes in a panic and knocked him under a semi. It was two days after the story was published. Given the nature of the story, I almost wish I could rewrite part of it to give him an heroic death. However, he did read and comment on the story, a few days before I submitted the final draft for upload. I'm glad he didn't miss it entirely. The story is here. The obituary is here. Godspeed Zig. LW
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Posted
Aug 22 2011, 08:25 PM
by
BLACKFIVE