memories from the guild part two

I have two memories of SAM that stand out in my head. I don't know if this is 100% official or not, but I remember the first Molten Core raid that Corsairs ever went on, and how nervous and exciting it was. And do not ask me why, but I clearly remember Startamer winning the roll for Stryker's Mark off of Magmadar, and getting the Guild's first Epic raid drop. And I was so happy that SAM got it. He was the epitome of what Corsairs are all about, a bunch of friends who get together to play and have fun, and at the same time drop an epic bow in the hands of our hunters and you can kiss your DPS meter goodbye. It was the first time I felt like I was in a real guild, even though our numbers were small. With SAM out front, leading the way. For about 2 sec until the mob turned him into night elf jelly.

(I dug back through the archives a bit tonight and Eric first told us about raiding the Core with Divinity on May 29, 2006, and on June 4th he sent an email stating "Startamer has 12 DKP due to paying for the epic bow he won")

The other thing I remember is going on Friday night Naxx scrub runs, playing catch up while others were hammering out the quirks in Ulduar. I had heard a little bit about what was going on with his health by then. He would play for as long as he could, but generally wasn't able to finish an entire clear in one night. Near the end of the run he would send me a tell, apologizing but that he had to leave early. And I would think to myself... here is a guy listening to Pat bitching about a rough work week, and he's not saying a word. If I live to be 100, I won't know a fraction of the pain that SAM went through, and not only is he not complaining about it, but he's apologizing because he thinks he's letting his friends down because of it. That is the kind of person I want to be, someone who truly understands what is important in life.

I think we learn from every person we meet in life. I never met SAM in person, but I pray that I never forget the lessons he taught me.

I think that last one was from Patrick

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I too only met Sam once briefly over a meal, but he was a good friend after years of interacting via WoW and TS.

Sam was always pushing to do more, and especially pushed COKT to do think bigger. His fingerprints are all over COKT as we know it today, from expanding our members, to policies, but most importantly – to the wonderfully positive, infectious impact his attitude had.

I credit Sam with making our BC 25-man raids happen – and those raids were a lot of fun and re-invigorated COKT from the stagnant dead-end of running Kara week after week with no further 10-man options. I also really valued the perspective that Sam brought to our officer email exchanges, especially the long and very intense debates we had about the very first DKP system that was put in place for 25-man runs.

During one of our first 25-man runs, I think it was just after Gruul had cleaned our clocks and we only had Gruul down to 80%, Sam spoke up as everyone was running back in and getting ready to buff. He said, “We almost had him that time folks, we’ll get’em on the next attempt.” It didn’t matter how poorly things seemed to be going, he always knew we were one more attempt from success. That is the example I always think of when I think of Sam’s eternal optimism.

My funniest memory Erika already brought up – watching the utter chaos as he pulled the first set of pats in AQ20.

Lower the Jolly Roger to half mast and line up the 21 bow salute.

/salute

- Eric

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Wow, where do I begin about Sam? It's hard to think back to which came first Sam or playing WoW with Sam - but there was a time before WoW. We shared real life group for years and eventually joined the guild through Sam after we learned that we were all playing WoW. Chups and I even left our old server and started new players - little did Chups know when he named my new character Starr that he was trampling on Sam's territory! Some of the best times I've had playing WoW have been with Sam and Tara.

If you thought he was amazing as Star, you should have known him in real life. He is one of the funniest, sweetest, and caring people I've ever known. The world shined a little brighter with him in it. But although we'll miss him achingly here, I know he lives on with our Father where there is no more pain.

I miss you Sam. Hope to see you again one day!!

Mel (Starr)

I don't think my memories of World of Warcraft would be the same without him involved.

memories from his friends on World of Warcraft

I wanted to share these emails that were sent when the guild had heard about Sam's death.

I had the pleasure of meeting Star and Tara once on a trip to Dallas. He was a fun person and easy to talk to. There was no ice to break -- we just jumped right in and had an enjoyable and very nerdy (and long) conversation over Mexican food, and even some margaritas. I'm sure the waiters were appalled with our discussion of WoW strat and WoW successes/failures. Goodkitty was even dressed like a kitty. Star looked like a jedi knight in training.

To me what was so amazing about Star was to have been such a positive person even though he was battling a devasting disease for half his life. He always brought humor, optimism, and a lightness to our runs. I have many fond memories of playing WoW with him. Here are a few.

- Star pulling AQ20. We would all stand in the back (way back). Remember how we sent him out there to "go get us started, Star"? Inevitably chaos would follow, and generally half the people would run out of the instance. It was always good for a fun laugh and he never seemed to mind being the sacrificial hunter.

- The uncharacteristic Star, having a drink during Gruul's lair. It must have been a special occasion, for Star was having a drink during a night of raiding Gruul. Star was mumbling about needing to go to sleep, and Goodkitty chimed in with something to the effect, of "dont worry honey, I'll take care of you". It was very sweet :)

- Starczar, organizing the Friday night runs. This was a thankless job, and he always tried his darndest to get people involved in the runs. His emails on the drafts were funny, but my favorite was the way he signed off -- Starczar.

Peace to you Star - we will miss you,
Cherity

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There are so many good things I could say about this man. Sam and Tara have long been two of my favorite people, ever since I met them through Aaron five or six years ago. He was always a pleasure to be around - a kind and gentle spirit, without anything bad to say about anyone. That said, he was also a ton of fun, with a very amusing penchant for mischief.

More relevantly to this particular group of people, Sam was the guy that let me know about this guild back in the BC era. He was the reason I kept playing this game, to be quite frank. Then he lured his best friend, and one of my best friends, into the addiction with us, which made it so much better.

I'll miss him.

Evan

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Since a lot of people in the Corsairs and on this list are open about their spiritual beliefs, I will be too in tribute to SAM.

I hope to see you again next time around, SAM. Hopefully we'll be nearby enough that we can connect physically instead of just virtually.

SAM was a beautiful example of a human being, and I don't pass that kind of compliment out lightly. SAM was always so vocally reserved, but when he talked what he had to say was always poignant - whether humorous and witty (most often the case), or a good 'reality' check for the rest of us when we were getting down on ourselves for not accomplishing a goal. I really think SAM brought his never-quit-fighting attitude to every Corsair raid, as well as his terribly-worded emails that made me scratch my head and laugh in confusion. His web of beautiful, strong, and pure energy won't fade anytime soon for me, nor in the minds, hearts, and
lives of so many other Corsairs.

YYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111

/cry

Michael Magnus Miller-Wilson

MEMORY: TEH HAWTNESS of Starlight. Elderly scantily clad female dwarven priest. And always willing to /dance in-between flash heals and fear wards!

To be continued in part two of this post.