We lost a fun Member of our Jet Boating Brother/Sisterhood

[Evil Sports]

This cancer thing...... WTF!! Lost my mother, My sister is stage 4 and my step brother is losing half his throat. I guess as we get old enough to have toys like this we have to face the big C around every corner. Mikey was always worth the read, he will be missed.

 

[spaz1868]

Every new member on this forum has to know @MikeyL...He is always one of the ones to offer a warm welcome to a new member and always had a welcoming meme attached.

RIP Mikey!

 

[Seadeals]

I have been away for a while and now come back to learn about @MikeyL. From my online interactions, he was ALWAYS a hoot. Just last week I thought it would be great to trailer down to Oconee (the lake I visited as a kid) and meet Mikey, perhaps even Barbie (who he always seemed to cherish) and see that fabulous yard in person. We never know when it will be our day; but God bless Mikey for his humor, his spirit, the millions of smiles I know were his fault and the peace I know he was able to enjoy while on the water Miss B' Haven.

 

[0627Devildog]

While I haven't been on in a while with life being quite busy as of late. . . . I was reading a few posts to get up to date and saw the "In Memoriam" under his avatar. I am truly saddened to hear of his passing.

@MikeyL was the first member I gave a "dislike" after the options showed up on here. We had had been on hundreds of threads together and had some pretty funny interactions. In this instance he was talking about the launch of the 2015's after having seen something on his home lake. I could tell he was a man of principle, as he had given his word not to post anything until the release in exchange for a ride and a preview ahead of time. When he stood fast and said he couldn't share I "disliked" his post not realizing that it was counted as a "negative rating". Well Mikey took it quite hard as we had built up a rapport and PM'd me to ensure I wasn't sore while asking me to reverse my rating. He actually apologized for offending me (which he had never done) and further explained why he needed to keep his word. Needless to say, I reversed my rating and liked his post all the while laughing at how literally he had taken the "dislike".

While we only interacted in the forums and through a handful of PM's I truly enjoyed seeing his replies. He had a great sense of humor when he wasn't taking me too literally.

RIP Mikey, wherever you are.

 

[Julian]

@0627Devildog He sure was a true Gentleman! As an FYI, a dislike isn't counted as negative, its neutral. We've not created any "Post Ratings" that give a Negative "score"...trying to keep things positive! Mikey was one of the most vocal in this regards! Such a positive guy all around! Still stunned at how fast the cancer took him!

 

[Boat Crazy]

@0627Devildog funny you mentioned that. One day I was scrolling on my phone one handed and accidentally hit the dislike on one of his posts. He PM'ed me and wanted to know if he offended me by his post. I wasn't even aware I had hit the unlike sign. Long story short, that resulted in several pm's of conversation and an invite to visit and stay at his house on the lake. The wife and I were actually looking forward to the visit in a few years as we travel the country. He was the true meaning of "A nice guy".

 

[0627Devildog]

@0627Devildog He sure was a true Gentleman! As an FYI, a dislike isn't counted as negative, its neutral. We've not created any "Post Ratings" that give a Negative "score"...trying to keep things positive!

That is how I viewed. It was just another way to be funny to me. . . . . Like if someone were to post "Hey, I'm out of beer. . . " that is something I would dislike. I mean how can you "like" that?

 

[Peelz]

oh no. ive been away for awhile... SAD news. read many posts by him. I wish for smooth sailing for his family and friends.

Cancer, indeed, SUCKS. lost my Dad that way a few years ago. it takes no prisoners. Dont hate much in this world... but THAT. I hate without question.

 

[jawsf16]

@0627Devildog funny you mentioned that. One day I was scrolling on my phone one handed and accidentally hit the dislike on one of his posts. He PM'ed me and wanted to know if he offended me by his post. I wasn't even aware I had hit the unlike sign. Long story short, that resulted in several pm's of conversation and an invite to visit and stay at his house on the lake. The wife and I were actually looking forward to the visit in a few years as we travel the country. He was the true meaning of "A nice guy".

I had the exact same interaction with him! Inadvertently hit a dislike and he was truly concerned... Great guy.

 

[swatski]

Honestly, not a day goes by I don't think about Mikey...
Never met him in person.

 

[msavold]

Wow.

I too have been away and now I too am in something of a state of shock. Apologies in advance if I go on.

Like many others I "met" @MikeyL at about this time last year when he was (as always) one of the first to say "welcome aboard". From there it escalated to frequent communications and many phone calls regarding which boat to buy - new or used. My wife (who didn't make it a secret that we shouldn't spend too much) liked to say I was just like those cartoon characters with an angel on one shoulder (@OCMD, suggesting we buy used) and a devil on the other (Mikey, insisting brand new was the only way to go). This was around the time when he was trading in his 2013 for the 2015. Even though we went used, we remained friends and actually were also thinking of a road trip to meet Mikey, Barb, and Lake Oconee in person.

Fast forward to recently. We, of course, had a good laugh at his 2015 to 2016 trade and, also of course, he tried to convince me to trade for a 2016! We also talked about his health. He'd been in the hospital, was home when I called, but was heading back in for, as he called it "a tune-up".
We talked about the episode of the HGTV show Lakefront Bargain Hunt that was filmed in his yard (http://tinyurl.com/n9b86zq) and I promised I'd look for it.

After that, things got very busy with some health stuff, some family stuff, and even some work stuff. And I kept putting off calling Mikey to see how he was doing and more importantly how the new boat was, certain that he was o.k.

Last week I finally got a chance to take a day off and go put the boat into storage. En route I thought about calling Mikey to see how he was doing but realized I didn't have his number with me. So I put it off again.

I never imagined it was too late.

So long Mikey. God bless you and the joy, help, and camaraderie you brought us here on the forum. You will be missed - though certainly not by the fish in Lake Oconee who now don't have to run scared from you!

Mauro

 

[jetboater4life]

This stinks. I open one eye from my winter slumber and this is the first post I see. Mikey was such a great guy, he will be missed. Rest in peace good buddy.

 

[cozilla]

Just came across this. RIP @MikeyL . Thank you for sharing your smoking secrets and how tos with me. I enjoyed coming across your posts.

 

[SCSTWG]

Sorry to hear of this news. He was a great contributor to the forum and his presence hear will be missed. Thoughts and prayers to his friends and family.

 

[Lspeedss]

Wow..I had no idea. Like so many l too have been away from the forum for a while. Our thoughts are with the family and prayers to God to bring them understanding and strength.
R.I.P Mikey

 

[Jackew]

Mikey - wow, really sad to learn this. I'll never forget his kindness and passion to help me and others on this site. I wish I could have taken him up on a trip to his neck of the woods.

 

[96Pirate]

Like many others I have been away for quite a while and saw a mention in another post about him passing recently. So I searched the forum and found this post.

I didn't know @MikeyL personally nor did we communicate much on this forum other than maybe a few posts. But I always had fun reading his posts. He will be sadly missed.

Mike

 

[njmr2fan]

Oh man...
I'm embarresed to admit I'm just now learning this. Rest in peace Mikey. Only knew him through posts, PMs, but we did invite each other to come and stay at each others homes to check out our respective lakes. It didn't happen last summer and for sure we were going to plan it this year... Sorry I waited I know i missed out on meeting a great person. Love and prayers to his wife and children.

 

[bottman]

This came as a shock to me. I haven't talked with him in a few months and was going to call and chat when I stumbled across this posting.

Mikey put me in touch with Randy @ Wedowee Marine. Steered me away from a potential bad buy to a great deal on a newer boat.

I too think about him just about every time I put my boat in.

He will be missed. My condolences to anyone who knew him as well.

 

[leeatmg]

Wow...like many others I've been away for a while, and had no idea. What a gentleman and always very entertaining to read. Sad to lose such a good guy. Never met or spoke with him but I admired his wit.