I repaired - and replaced - some lighting tonight over on the M&E. I saw this shot and figured I'd grab it, and then remembered a phone call from last night from a close friend about a distant but important friend who is fighting hard tonight. Mike DelVecchio is a longtime titan in our hobby, a railroader and railfan, modeler and historian, and a good person. He's a musician too, and an unassuming guy that has touched a lot of things that 40-something railfans would recognize. A longtime employee of and then follower and fan of the Morristown & Erie, parent company of my modeled 'Minoa & Euclid', Mike was friendly to me from day one.
Many wonderful tributes to Mike are out there, and I wish I could have joined the excursion in his honor last month where he was his old self: smiling, friendly, garrulous, focused. Family travels had me out of state while thankfully many closer friends of his attended.
Tonight, he and his family could use our thoughts and a prayer. I made this image and immediately thought of Mike: how many nights did he push, forgoing a quiet evening for a safer move, or for one more tune at one of his gigs playing guitar? He worked on the M&E 19, and now here it is resting quietly at Euclid, in 1:87.1 scale on the OC.
May tonight be quiet and restful for Mike, and for all those who are fighting similar battles.