Huffy Flounce

Some of you already know this, but Hicksy recently kicked on to that Great Message Board in the Sky. (Cardiac arrest, for the curious. A surprise, I'm sure, for those who assumed him to be heartless.) Unless his family is helping him engage in an elaborate troll, which, knowing him, isn't beyond the realm of possibility.

He loved you guys. Yeah, even you. He was often divisive and dismissive, but it was almost always just for the fun of it. He genuinely believed--as far as I could tell from our many chats, at least--that every message board ought to have a troll. He was more than happy to fill that role and would routinely take positions contrary to his real-life positions just to keep the boards lively.

He was at least an inch taller than I am, the bastard, and was a genuine/unironic fan of David Lynch's Dune. A close IRL friend of his continues to believe that Hicks didn't actually like it and that Hicks's professing to like it was another of his trolls, but I don't think that was the case. I think he, like me, had loved it unconditionally since childhood. It was a love grandfathered in by nostalgia, maybe, but I'm convinced it was genuine.

Anyway, Hicks texted a few days before he died to tell me some new chick had stopped in, had given him a blowjob, and had just left, so I guess he went out on a high note.

Jesus. This is rather sad.

I often sparred with Hicks but I don't believe we ever ventured beyond the level of civil debate. Nowadays, of course, this means neither of us accused the other of being involved in any satanic/demonic/alien/reptilian/pedophile/communist/fascist/(insert scary fantasy here)/ conspiracies. We just really strongly disagreed on a bunch of stuff. As folks do.

I always considered him to be a moral, centred, focused individual with a whip-smart sense of humour and great timing. A family man. A working man. I called him out when I felt the need to, and he often called me on my own shit.

You wanna talk about board trolls? I have some experience. If I am to be honest, I don't believe I am the guy I was back when I regularly posted whatever I was back then. Mania, Corona, Cinescape, etc. Space_Tycoon doesn't really exist anymore. Perhaps he never did. Just a persona I enjoyed wearing for some hours in a day. Who has replaced him? Who am I really? That is the great mystery.

In any event, Hicks will be remembered by me for a long time. If for no other reason than that he has occupied some small rent-free property in my head for almost two decades now, and will continue to do so. Not a huge space, but just large enough to be noticed.

I'm from Toronto. We think about rent a lot, sue me.

R.I.P. Corporal Hicks. I thank you for your service. This life is fleeting, fragile, wispy. It can end with little or no warning. All the more reason to live every moment without fear. As he did.

Deepest condolences. He was a familiar face in a world of strangers. He'll be missed.

Early 40s. Thats harsh.