.Michael Colliss
It’s with sadness that I have to inform our readers that Michael passed away last month, after a sudden illness. I do not have any further details other than what Michael’s sister told me. I truly feel a loss, as while I’ve only known Mike for 6 months and we where on 2 different continents, we became firm friends, speaking on the phone to each other every second day. I am at a loss to write any more, other then to say I know Mike will be missed by many.
“A desire to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of man.”
John Adams – 2nd President of the United States
Rest in peace, Mike.
Oh, too bad. I was thinking he had a heart attack or stroke and was in a hospital recuperating…
Mr. Colliss seemed like one of those genuinely good people who are extremely rare these days, he was also an insightful/informative writer and extremely empathetic to the long term unemployed, one of the few who actually “got it”.
Eleanor and Franklin must be sad too, hopefully they will remain together when placed in a new home.
I’m sorry to hear this, but I guess he at least got a good Christmas with his family. The last I heard, he was about to leave for a vacation in Europe. Do you know if he made it, or got back from the trip?
Michael – you will truly be missed! I do not yet know what I will do without you – I now feel like a rudderless ship. I will do my very best to continue the fight for a Tier 5 and for all the old and new 99ers as you would have. It is now up to us my friend to continue to walk in your footsteps.
Peace be with you!
Scott
This is heartbreaking news. Michael was truly the definition of a kind, selfless human being. He put so much time and effort into helping the 99ers (and many, many others), asking nothing of us in return. He will be missed beyond words.
I just cannot express my feelings right now. I had the greatest pleasure of speaking with Michael a couple of times over the phone regarding the 99ers. In fact, we spoke for almost 2 hours the day before he was going away. He said he would be in touch with me when he returned. I felt after talking with him those few times, that I had known him forever!! He was so interesting, and funny, and caring and intelligent. He said he would call me when he got back and I was wondering why he didn’t and now I sadly know why. May he sleep in peace!
r.i.p m.c and we will miss you .. its sad but us 99ers will win the battle
I’m numb…..it hasnt sunk in. He was a true advocate for the 99ers. His articles helped keep me going, when I was down. I have been missing him, even before I heard the news of his passing. May God bless his soul and he rests in peace.
I spoke with him a day or two before he went on vacation…
He said he’d be back around the 20th of January and I had been wondering what was happening with him. I said to my friend, “He probably just extended his vacation…”
He was a saint, working hard for the 99ers, and working in a local community center too. It was very enjoyable – and educational! – talking with him on the phone over the past couple months as we got to know each other.
If only there more like him in the world…. He will be sorely missed. The 99ers never had a better friend. Michael was surely “observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired”! I know I admired him a great deal.
Michael, I know if there’s a Heaven you are surely in it! Thank you for all the work you did for the 99ers!
thanks, michael colliss you were kind and compassionate and concerned about the
welfare of people. Too many michael colliss are leaving this world making it somewhat of a drab place to live. I appreciate your comments to my statements and in someway I feel the loss of someone that, could be called my friend. Thank you michael for your concern and concerns in regard to the plight of the 99er nation, and if relief and victory is achieved, I hope that somehow you will know that you had a lot to do with it’s sucess. Job well done RIP, to the friend of the 99er, job well done.
Steve B
I am so sad. What a wonderful, wonderful man. My heart goes out to his family. A huge loss for so many. Michael Colliss touched so many lives with his kindness. I will miss him very much.
God blessed that man with an amazing voice and a talent for organizing people — and in turn, he blessed us by using those abilities on our behalf. Thank you, Michael. We will miss you deeply.
I haven’t been on this site lately for quite some time but when I entered the website to seek and read on the latest unemployment news, I was shocked to come across this article on the passing of Michael Colliss.
But what I would also like to know is why is this is being reported now when this occurred a month ago and what was the illness that took away his life.
The headline itself was the first article I noticed right away and it really shocked me to see it. Although there were times where I disagreed with some of his articles, I feel touched and sad by this news.
It’s sad to say even when there were times where I disputed the issue and there were instances of some bickering and arguing on the topic amongst each other, you come to the realization that in the end we are all human beings vulnerable to face our fate one day and life is short.
Unfortunately that day claimed Michael Coliss life and hopefully his soul is resting in peace. I give my heartfelt condolences and at the same time I know it may be late to say this but if I offended him with my words I pray that it may be forgotten and put behind and I say the same to those who work on this website to write these informative articles.
It goes to show that even if we disagree and argue with one another on these issues, you never know what may happen to our very own existence and fate when it may be late to extend words of apology in order to come to a mutual understanding with respect to one another.
May he Rest in Peace.
Wow, I am really shocked and saddened by this news.
Michael was honestly one of the best journalist I’ve read or listened to in this past year. Especially in this age of no more original reporting, just the Copy & Paste from other news sources brought about by the Internet and Social Media.
He also truly seemed to be the only journalist that understood how Congress actually works. He definitely knew if far better than any one reporting on CNN. Plus he would go out of his way to answer our questions about the workings of Congress and the Whitehous. When it came to the 99er issue, there really was no reason to read any other articles other than his.
Some long time readers of his may think Michael and I seriously disliked each other from some of our comments made online. Most were usually me calling him out for being too much in favor of the Democrats. What you didn’t get to see were the personal email conversations we carried on ever since he first emailed me shortly after he started writing for All247NEWS to convey a rather lengthy response to some questions I raised in one of my comments. We held no grudge against each other. What may have seemed like arguments were really just debates. Most of which were finished via emails instead of in the Comments section.
He did tell me back in August that he probably would call it quits for writing for ALL247NEWS come the end of the year because of the amount of time it took. I noticed that he wrote a few articles in the first week of January and just assumed that he had called it quits as he said he would. I kept checking this site to see if he was just waiting for something to happen that was worth writing about, considering not much has happened in Congress since the 111th ended, and sadly came upon this article today.
He will greatly be missed.
Steve Ross, Michael jokingly told me that you were trying to kill him when he submitted 3 articles to you in one day, expecting them to cover his next 3 day’s worth of writing. Only to have you publish them all that day and that you expected a new article for the next day. LOL :)
Michael Danielson, I just have to say that Michael Colliss agreed with me that your articles aren’t worth reading. He even stated that he gave up trying to correct your mistakes about how Congress and UI works.
One thing that is rather puzzling though is that Michael told me in an email that he worked as a Staffer for one Congressman and two Senators over a 20 year period. Months later, he posted a Comment that after being a Congressional Staffer, he then went on to be a Capital Hill journalist for almost 20 years. Yet his obit states that he worked as a computer technician. Plus, at only 57 years old, would have made it rather hard for him to put almost 40 years in of working on the Hill in one form or another.
He obviously knew how Congress works, and had inside connections to Senior Staffers. So is his obit wrong? Or did he lie about the length of time he worked on the Hill? Something about this just doesn’t seem right.
I also have to agree with FUHBAH, and wonder why was this news about the loss of Michael was delayed for so long? (Granted, it was 2 weeks and not a month, but that is still a rather lengthy delay.)
I was a little confused by the obit as well. Like you, I had been told he had been a Staffer (don’t recall that he told me how long), and what I remember being told also is being a producer (guess that could double as IT/technician?). I also know that he volunteered regularly locally with the unemployed helping them to get services. I guess I’ve just come to realize that any variances between the obit and what I was told makes little to no difference, because the impact he made here by way of his friendship and information and education is more important than any (likely) errors by a grieving family.
The funeral is not until the 7th, and I know you and Fuhbah are questioning why it is so long that we are getting this news. I know that the staff of MICMN have been trying to contact someone for some time with their concerns when he did not return after his scheduled trip as he had said he would. The people from this website have been doing all they could to find out what had happened to Michael, and I’m sure they notified us when they were able to find out something. And if my recall is correct, the obit was dated 02/04, so we may not be the only ones who were caught unaware of his early demise.
Regardless of the circumstances or the length of time since he has been gone and we have been notified, we have suffered a loss of a friend, a supporter, his children and grandchildren have lost a man they loved, and Eleanor and Franklin have lost their dad. We are much better for having “known” him, and the world is a better place for having shared his presence.
Him being on vacation easily explains the delay in notification. Especially since the ALL247NEWS/micmn staff all work remotely instead of out of a single office. So I guess there really isn’t a mystery there.
I still find his obit rather mysterious though. Considering that Michael and I had ongoing email communications, and that we both gave an overview of our work history, mine being completely IT. It would seem that he would have mentioned having worked in the computer field, considering that is all that was listed that he did in his obit.
I guess it really doesn’t matter though. But knowing the true facts would help create some closure instead of being left with some weird, contradictory, information.
All I know for sure is that the unemployed, especially us 99ers, have lost a great source of information and an asset for our plight. One that I doubt will be able to be filled by anyone else.
He will be missed.
I was surprised too that it didn’t mention being survived by his children and grandchildren, even if not mentioned by name. But again, every family does their obituaries differently.
This makes me really sad to hear . My prayers go out to his family . I hope they realize what he has done here, giving so many hope and support when there was none to be had. May God Bless him and give him peace.
Very sad to hear this news about Michael. You were truly a great man and will be missed by so many. Rest in Peace our dear friend. My thoughts and prayers for your family
Still in a state of shock. Like a few other of the posters I have read on this particular post, I had spoken with him on the phone a few times, and he was indeed as kind and concerned and informative “in person” as he was in his writing. When I spoke with him, he was having problems with bronchitis, I wonder if that worsened? Of course, that is just pure speculation. I know he had just observed the anniversary of his wife’s death around the holidays, and it was bittersweet for him; now they have joined one another again.
A fine man, a kind man, I can only imagine the grief of his children and grandchildren and extend my sincere condolences. We have all suffered a loss, there are just no words…
Back last August, I was reading an article about the 99ers/long term unemployment (of which I am one) that was written by Michael on this site. I had posted a comment on it via my Gmail account, and no sooner than 20 minutes had elapsed before I had gotten a phone call on my cell from him, and we began our all to brief freindship. I found out that he lived in an area of the country that I had lived in for more than 20 years before moving back to my hometown of Stamford CT. Back that August, my father, who has Parkinsons disease and had suffered a serious accident two months before, was rehabbing at my home, and he would routinely ask about my Dad, even to the point where he asked what he could do to help me.
As I’m sure many other 99ers will attest, most people will offer you a sympahetic ear, some will not, but Michael offered more than just a sympathetic ear. His vast knowledge of the inner workings of Washington and how it related to the battle for a Tier V passage was beyond the pale. I felt like I was listening to an older brother who knew more about the world of Washington than most of us did. He didn’t sugarcoat the sitatuon, as many other writers on the subject would be want to do. And I fekt like I was talking to someone who knew exactly what we were going thru without being patronizing or condescending. And I thought, with all the advantages of life he was blessed with, he doesn’t need to write about and talk to a bunch of long term unemployed like us. But he did, and we are the better for it.
I’m still shocked by all of this, and the first thought I had in reading the message of his passing was the line from one of Billy Joel’s great songs; “only the good die young”.
RIP Mike, and my condolences to his sister, and his family.
A true fighter. He will be missed.
Michael, you were such a great, selfless man. I am heartbroken that you had to leave us so early. Rest in peace.
Michael, you will truly be missed by myself and thousands of others you gave hope to. I always looked forward to reading your articles and your infinite knowledge on the plight of the 99ers. I never spoke with you on the phone, but received many personal emails over time. You were an icon in the fight for justice. I am very sad to hear this news, please rest in peace and just know that your fight for justice will continue until we prevail.
You were truly a great person to know and will be greatly missed by all.
I wanted to add one more thing about Michael. His last phone conversation with me, with all the expert knowledge he shared regarding the inner workings of Congress etc., instilled in me the passion and drive and the extreme importance of fighting for the 99ers. He gave me back all the things that have been taken away from us 99ERS. He gave me back self-esteem, a feeling of having a purpose in life, reminding me I was a bright, intelligent women with so much to give, a sense that I mattered to so many people, and so much more. I truly thank him for that!
So his passing should make us ALL continue to fight even harder in his Memory. That is what he would want us to do. I feel he will be looking down over each and every one of us and continuing to give us that motivation we need to keep going.
Gerry: Thank you, this post touched me. I was thinking the same thing while I was out running errands today–we need to renew our fight (I’ve been keeping up with your successes)…as he stood for us, we now stand for him…helping us to help ourselves.
Ever since I got a pleasantly suprising call on my cell phone from back last August from Mike regarding some comments I had posted on one of his many thoughtful, honest and truthful columns that started our friendship, I now feel like a member of my own family has passed away. Every week without fail, he called me to see how I was doing, and to to ask about my ailing father who had had a serious accident back last June and understood the stress I was going thru not only as a 99er but as someone caring for an elderly parent. One thing I always thought about was that here was a guy who didn’t need to address the despair and hopelessness of the long term unemployed given his pension and retirement, but there he was writing and offering us honest and truthful insights into what has become the worst job market and economy since the Great Depression.
Rest in peace buddy. And condolences to his sister, his surviving family, and to Eleanor and Franklin.
I am saddened beyond words to learn of the news of Michael’s death. He will be missed by more people than he will ever know. I thought he would like this quote; it sounded like something he would say. Rest in peace, Michael.
“The death of someone we know always reminds us that we are still alive – perhaps for some purpose which we ought to re-examine.” ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960
Rest in Peace Mike – you held our hands through these troubled times and you will be missed – God rest Your Soul !!
I never had the pleasure of meeting this gentlemen but my heart and prays go out to his remaining family. I am fairly new on this site, and been a 99′er for almost 3 years. So Peace and love to his family.
I am very saddened to learn of this. His passing will truly be a great loss for all of us. His steadfast devotion to our cause and the knowledge he provided us with will be greatly missed. Through his writings over this past year as well as hearing him speak, I feel I came to know him as someone of great character and principles. My heartfelt condolences go out to all of his family and those close in his life. May he rest in peace.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Michael online and he always had a great spirit. He worked tirelessly for the 99ers.
I want to offer this Memorial Guest Book link honoring Michael and set up to comfort his loved ones.
http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/telegram/guestbook.aspx?n=michael-koliss&pid=148325235&sign=3
StaciB: I came here tonight to do the same thing you did. Michael’s family will probably not come here to see the many people whose life Mike touched, but they will go to the guest book for his obituary, and everyone here whose lives he touched I’m sure his family would appreciate seeing how he touched our lives, how he inspired us, how he organized and informed us. So please, go to the site above, or just Google Michael J. Koliss and go to the guest book and let his family know how he touched each of our lives in an indelible way that transcends death. Please go there and tell his family how much he was loved, and how much we appreciated his help, his hope, his fortitude, and his love for those of us who have been left behind and disenfranchised.
Oops, sorry, Michael J. Koliss…….
Pepper and Suri, where are you? Do you know we have lost our advocate? And what the devil am I doing on here trying to reach people who I know it would matter to?
And what about Dan…I know Mike helped him through the Community Center…where is he? and does he know?
Please, those of you on this site who have been touched by Michael and his advice, his information, his caring, his advocacy, please go to his obit site and say something on his guest book site so his family will know the impact he made upon our lives. It is unlikely his family is going to come here to see how he impacted us, but they most likely will go to the guest book that I’m sure they set up. We are not all erudite, but we have all been touched by him; please go there and let his family know what he has meant to us.
Sharon-GA – God works in mysterious ways… I just ‘felt something’ had happened and got your ‘esp message’ to check in. Had overwhelming weather, computer, and modem break downs over last weeks…
How to go to obit?? Is it posted above??
I’m feeling conflicted by guilt for all the time he spent with us but knowing he would want it no other way!! I feel we all would want our time to count as meaningfully as his did…
I’m just very grateful for the warmth, understanding, and respect Michael always provided all of us — even some who didn’t ‘deserve’ it! I am also grateful, hopefully, that there was no great element of pain, illness, and distress — maybe just a nap with Franklin and Eleanore that didn’t end… Peace to all.
Suri: Oh thank you! Google Michael J. Koliss, and underneath there is the guest book.
I’m crying as I write, I am so glad the ESP was working.
What bothers me most is that he may have died alone..with the exception maybe of Franklin and Eleanor, who I know he loved.
Thank you for signing in just now, and I hope you and your family are well.
Sharon-GA – Thank you for your WARM welcome and for making me feel missed!
This, time and life passing by, is exactly why I get sooo angry sometimes. Too many peoples’ lives are being diminished by the unforgiving economy and unemp!! It not only is a loss for all those involved and their families, but on the broader scale our communities and nation!! The country is a ‘false economy’ right now imho due to the haves and have nots. We need to pay attention to Egypt — the crisis is all about lack of opportunity and unemp rate!! This cannot allowed to continue in our country, year after year??
My head and heart are still not ‘wrapped around’ the loss of Michael Colliss… Our relationships here are real and with that is the pain of his “dear friend, hang on” no longer to be posted… We ALL NEED to take note to respect the stress we are under as well as to NOT inflict unneccessary stressors on others. It is like those beer commercials used to say “you only go around once”!
I need to catch up on possibilities of 14 weeks being added to Tier 2 that I am reading about… Where is Michael’s gentle, wise guidance and how will we learn from his positive, steadfast spirit without him being our role model?? Peace and tears…
Suri: StacieB also left a link above for the guest book, easier than going my way.
I’m so glad you are back…..
Just trying–says there are 36 comments, and I see only 30, so sometimes if post it will update. Sorry to bother…
Rest in Peace Michael. You will be missed, say hello to the many 99ers in heaven who didn’t make it through this crisis.
I stumbled across this and thought ya’ll would like to read it:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7721324/tier_5_unemployment_extension_99ers.html
I am truly sad to hear this – I never got a chance to meet Mike, but from our phone conversations and his writing I knew him to be a kind, passionate, and generous person who truly believed in the 99er cause.
He will be missed.
Michael Colliss You will be missed, What a positive effect you had on me and so many other people.
It seems that all the good people die young.
May God Bless Your Family.
I just found out about this today and personally hurt, by this news. Michael C. was a fierce advocate for the long-term unemployed and a real job creation program to solve our jobless crisis here in America. He will be solely missed.
His family has my deepest sympathies and the staff here at formerly All24/7News.com.
Sincerely,
Monica RW
Reach Out Job Search News Blog
http://www.reachoutjobsearch.com
We’ve lost our Champion.
Michael, you died a Hero.
Thank-you dear, dear Michael for your unflagging support to us, your fellow Americans whom you served so well and gave so much of your life’s energy, your heart and gentle brilliance.
Peace to you in eternity. Peace and comfort to your family and friends.
Something just does not seem right about this man’s passing. People come and go and all of that BUT something just doesn’t seem right. In any event he had been doing a good job. A large number of well-written, informative articles. I would have preferred him to be a bit more aggressive in his style but he performed a great service nonetheless. I doubt any writer in the United States could have done any better.
Well said , Greg.
I agree with you about the oddness of his passing. The timing is so peculiar. It is like he gave his last breathe to us by completing his 5 point action plan for the 99 ers and then perished!
I don’t know if it is too soon to start conspiracy theory conjectures about his passing at this time, but I really would like to talk about this somehow.
His sudden passing does not sit well with me and I would so much like to have a better understanding of his death.
And why it took what, 2 weeks?, for the sketchy obit. and funeral. Was it a week before they found him?!?! “Something rotten in Denmark.”
For those of you who never personally meet Michael J. Kolliss and now question his employment history. a little bit of my back ground is in order. I first met mike in Wilmington Delaware in November of 1990. He and I were roommates at St. Joseph’s house in Wilmington.
I often got the impression from the brothers at St. Joseph that he and I were assigned the same room due to our prior military background. Then as our mutual journey progressed though St. Joe’s, I was greatly impressed by the fact Mike never pulled rank in any situation. As an enlisted I had never experienced this before. After all, Mike was definitely smarter, wiser and more knowledgeable than I could ever hope to be. It would have been easy for Mike to do that. Now a bit about St. Joseph’s house…..
St. Joseph’s house was a homeless shelter for men 18-21 years of age. Both mike and I were well beyond the maximum age for acceptance into St. Joseph’s. Mike had fallen on hard times after a messy divorce. To put it bluntly the man had been wrung though a wringer. With that enough has been said.
Mike found himself unemployed, homeless and nearly completely abandoned by family & friends. As such Mike did the only thing he could do. He went to the Delaware job service office. They discovered his veteran status and sent him out to an interview. Mike was then hired by McDonalds Corp. as a frontline cashier for $3.35 per hour. Needless to say it was huge chunk of humble pie for any man to eat. A few weeks later Mike left St. Joe’s.
Over the intervening years I lost track of Mike, in the mid 90’s I got a call from mike saying he was going to be in the area for a convention. We agreed to meet for lunch. We met up at my place of employment. Unfortunately for Mike I had an annual board meeting to attend to this particular day at the Philadelphia Unemployment Project. So I took Mike along. Mike went along like a good sport. Then I nominated Mike for the board of directors and left as I was going to be late returning from my lunch break. Needless to say smoke was rising from Mike’s ear ports when I left the room. Sadly and regretfully I never saw or heard from Mike again.
There are great many things one can say about our late friend Michael J. Kolliss. Nearly all them good, I would have never have guessed that you would have run the ball as far as this nominating you was just all in good fun. But, man did you score big-time. I hope that you finally have peace and happiness. GIG MY FRIEND!
Greed is good!
gordon gekko
daniel casey: Don’t know why, but I imagined that there was some loss in Michael’s background that made him so compassionate to our situation, and now we know what that was. There are still unanswered questions, but what I know for sure is that he knew more about our legislative process than most, and was able to educate us about the process, he was compassionate and kind, he was a leader, and did his level best to help us. I thank you, daniel, for your information posted here.
Sharon-GA – G’morn from IN — still piles of snow but ABOVE 40 degrees, first time this year!
I’m not ‘sure’ about daniel casey posting re MC. I am at peace with the belief that we are all ‘many’ different people over our lifetimes. And yes, I have always personally found those who have truly suffered are the most compassionate!!
Those of us who turned to MC through his articles posted every day, (often several on one day!!) ‘know’ who Michael was to us and FOR US!! That is enough for me…
I just continue to miss Michael’s ability to SHARE, our pain, our hope, our feelings of being lost. I often noticed how much of his day was spent in posting and replying when some were ‘off track’ or going astray. I’m just so sorry we, 99ers, could not enjoy success of a Tier 5 with Michael’s satisfaction at the effort!!
As I posted previously, I hope for Michael it was just a long nap with Franklin and Eleanor. There is much to be said for not being aware of impending demise imho. Peace in my heart for MC…
Suri: I’m not sure why you are unsure of Daniel’s post, but I can understand your reticence. I also understand and appreciate your loyalty to Michael, as I’m sure most of us have a sense of loyalty. Despite loyalty, despite deep caring, I do still have unanswered questions to unanswered contradictions, and they do bother me. There are things he told me over the phone about his life (current and some past) that is not borne out by his obituary. I find it confusing and bewildering. That, however, does not take away what I said above, he was knowledgeable in the legislative process and was able to convey that knowledge to us; he was supportive of us, he was compassionate, he responded to each of us in his own initimable way, he tried to advise us how to affect the legislative process and organized us as volunteers should we choose to do that.
Our weather really pretty today, sunshine and warm. Woodpecker keeps pecking on my house–very persistent, really riles up “the girls,”–they think someone is knocking on the door!
Daniel Casey…I so appreciate your sharing. There’s no question many have been in limbo struggling for closure on our Michael. The background you have kindly provided reinforces the only conclusion which made sense and kept surfacing with me. He did not want to draw attention to or discuss himself so this rascal effectively kept us at bay Michael style.
He was already at the top of my “Most Selfless Person I’ll Ever Meet” list. I will honestly never forget this man who had the ability to make people all across the nation feel they had such a great, understanding friend who really cared about them. Absolutely amazing.
Yes, I can confirm he’d been abandoned by his family. The response from his immediate family shocked me when I contacted them after I became aware of Mike’s death. Cold, uncaring and in the case of his brother, a maths teacher in Delaware, outright rude. This from a family where his sister is a nun, and his father is praised for all the good works he’s done building churches in Ghana. As always, there’s 2 sides to a story, but this I know, Mike had a heart of gold, and really did care about people. Often he was so upset with how the unemployed were being treated he went into a deep depression. No matter who or what Mike was, I miss the man and our regular talks. He was witty, kind, very knowledgeable on a broad range of subjects, and as I said before, you knew this man had a heart of gold, despite what life had dished out to him.
Steve: So maybe his family’s cold, uncaring attitude answers questions about the obituary feeling totally “incomplete”–at least from what we had been told by him about himself and his life. Perhaps they knew nothing of him, or cared less; perhaps they didn’t want to give him any credit for anything good or positive. I could go on and on with the “perhaps’s,” but it makes me incredibly sad that a man who, at least to us, was so good and thoughtful and kind and knowledgeable and capable should have been abandoned. I appreciate you putting your 2 cents in here because you can tell that his death still troubles us, whether it had any impact on his family or not. And the thing is, we all miss him. I still keep looking for articles from him. Again, thanks for writing your input here. I, for one, really appreciate it.
Having developed a relationship where I would talk with Michael for 45 mins – 1 hr almost every night, I cannot express just how much I agree with your comments Steve. A heart of gold pretty well sums it up, and I like many others keep looking for that next email that would let me know that you had published another of Michael’s works.
I have taken to calling our group of 99ers that Michael championed “Michael’s Plan” and we continue to follow in his footsteps to press for relief for millions of 99ers. If anyone is still interested in joining, please send an email with a subject line “Volunteer” to tier5for99ers@gmail.com and we will get you a advocacy packet and include you in our communications.
Mike would have wanted this to continue, so we will, as much for the importance of this cause; as for his memory!
Wow…thank you, Steve. Impossible to comprehend and way sad.
Steve Ross – I’m deeply grateful that you shared this insight on Michael with us. I love how unique and complex we human beings are! Emphasize HUMAN…
As most here, I continue to wait for his ‘updates’ and then remember – sad. I do enjoy the ripple effect of his caring and absolutely believe had he known the timeline he would still have chosen to spend his time and efforts with us. I did detect the underlying sadness and how he related to those who have been found in dire straits ‘through no fault of their own’.
I’m sorry his family did not appreciate or enjoy this special soul and thus the obit not really functional in capturing his spirit? In my life experience, I have often found family to be more judgemental and critical than strangers. I hope his volunteer and on-line connections gave him the appreciation he so warranted!! Peace in paradise, Michael.
conspiricy theories aside (and who doesn’t love a good conspiricy theory!) his official obit being so rather different than what he’d told many readers about his life was a bit disturbing and he likely would not have been not happy about it. I hope people came to the memorial service. I’d had a dream about it (I dream of the weirdest things) like being outdoors in town square in a new englandy setting with a huge mass of people, like he’d once mentioned in article or comment how what we had here was like a town square debate/meeting, some people listened some agreed and some debated.
I hope his cats were seen to and not in an animal shelter somewheres.
I also wonder what he would’ve thought about these latest developments on another 14 weeks, i suspected he really thought anything beyond 99 weeks was impossible but he didn’t want people to give up hope.
EOTW: I haven’t thought “conspiracy theories,” I’ve just been confused and bewildered, and it’s kind of like my broken teeth–my tongue is always searching them out and niggling with them; my mind just kept going back to the things that seemed contradictory, the strange obituary. The last few posts from Dan and Steve have helped me a little bit with it. And funny you should mention dreams, but I’ve had some strange ones about him too!! And, like you, I worry about Franklin and Eleanor, because I know how much he loved them.