Mr. O'Neill, Hail and Farewell

 I am very sad tonight.  A very fine and funny man has died, my friend Devlin O'Neill.

Dev's intelligence and creative wit illuminated many a drab corner, and shored up many a shipwrecked victim.  He was a damn decent human being, the sort this tried and tired world can hardly afford to lose.  

It might seem strange to anyone outside "our circle" that the author of so much intense romantic spanking fiction and the star of several kinky Shadow Lane videos would be really be so loving and gentle, but there's no paradox.  His masculine strength and sense of play easily won the hearts of all of his female fans, who gave him the affectionate nickname "Uncle Dev." 

To be honest, some of his sexual fantasy runs into extremities that don't really appeal to me, but there is a lot that I do enjoy, especially his parodies.  Look over his list of books HERE!

He certainly earned our respect.  At one point in his career, Devlin served in the Military, another example of his sense of duty and honor.  He was a man of strong convictions, but I never saw him rant hysterically.  As an example, he did urge everyone in our last election to "choose decency over depravity, charity over avarice, democracy over fascism, honor and respect over four horrifying years of daily humiliation upon the world stage." 

Dev had just turned seventy.  You may have seen his reply to my birthday greeting two posts ago:  "This is my big Seven-Oh, so I've made the three-score and ten marker the ancients talk about.  Everything from here on out is just frosting on the cake. ;-) "

I knew he was very quietly and courageously fighting cancer, but I didn't know it was about to take him.  And I hope I'm not offending his wishes or his loved ones with that "revelation."

Dev loved Bogart and Marx Brothers movies, Shakespeare plays, and Mark Twain's prose, claiming (facetiously, I think) that he shamelessly stole from the best sources.  This weekend I will see a local production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and think of him.

He often called me "DeeDubya," 

I shall miss him very much. 

And thank you, Audrey, for the pictures, and your love for us. 

(This is Audrey's Notice.)