Peter,
First, I'm not entirely convinced that page is legit and not something Bruce concocted himself. For the sake of not wanting to be that jaded, let's say it's real. The thing that struck me was that most of these people hadn't kept in touch with Bruce in years and were basing their positive experiences on who he was 20 years ago. Maybe he was different years ago. It's intriguing.
I began to wonder (and I'm actually saying this from a place of compassion and seeking to understand, not as a joke or a dig on Bruce) if it might have been possible that he actually had some kind of brain issue, a physiological one (tumor? trauma?) that altered his brain in a way that somehow created a compartmentalized psychopathic/sociopathic persona that was limited only to his online interactions with people. As if it was impossible for him to view people online as actual human beings. Maybe it got worse and worse over the years. Clearly from what most board members who met him or spent any time with him person say, he was a completely different guy in person. Maybe some people shoot people at random from a clocktower, and others threaten people and their families on baseball card chat boards.
I realize it sounds like I'm playing armchair headshrinker, but it's not even a theory I'm proposing, just something I thought about after seeing that tribute page. It's actually nice to read positive things about him from people who had absolutely no idea who he was in our community.
I also wondered what any of those people would think if they did a google search for "Bruce Dorskind." Would they be shocked to learn of how insanely and horribly he treated people in his "hobby." Or do they know about that side of him and chalk it up to him being "eccentric" or "complicated"?
I guess we'll never really know, and I suppose it doesn't really matter. I just found that link to be interesting, whatever it means. None of that changes the fact that he died alone. He was proud of the fact that his cards and memorabilia gave him the same joy (in his mind) and sense of fulfillment that the rest of us suckers mainly get from raising our children and spending time with our families. I think it's tragic that anyone could leave this world THAT alone, regardless of how awful he was to people and the fact that he chose that for himself.
Anyway, that's all I have to say about Mr. Dorskind. And that's all the energy I care to expend on thinking about him.
-Ryan
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