Words can't even begin to describe the emotions that the human soul goes through
when a loved one dies.
Friday, August 15th at approximately
7:45pm my father, my Pop as I liked to call him - THOMAS MASON passed away of a
massive heart attack. He had been ill, and in & out of the hospital for
a few weeks, and was in fact released earlier that same day and was expected to
make a slow but full recovery... He had even hit the computer and contacted may
of his internet buddies to let them know he was back in action. Little did
any of us know that only a few short hours later he would be gone!
As per my father's request there was no official funeral ceremony, instead it
was a small gathering for the
family, no pomp and circumstance... the thought that any of his friends would have to
dress up and listen to a bunch of other friends rattle-on about his life and cry all
over the place, made him cringe. So instead, also per his wishes, we celebrated his LIFE with a party
Sunday Aug. 24th. My Pop was not
know for his traditional ways, in fact this is the only way he would have had
it.
My Pop was a rare breed, picture a 69
year old man rushing to Toys R Us because he had to be the first to own the
latest Batman action figure, back in the day it was not unusual for him to buy
two of everything, one to open and display the other to keep mint in the box, so
it's value would increase with age. But that's the funny thing, he would never
in a million years sell it anyway! I can't tell you how many times I would
get a call from him telling me about his latest toy purchase.
My mother, the saint that she is put
up with nearly 70% of the house covered in every manner of collectible, from
rare 1930's Mickey Mouse toys, Lone Ranger, Star Trek & Justice League
plates to the movie and ABC TV posters from the various Academy Awards shows he
had worked on in his many years in broadcasting - to every kind of superhero toy you
could imagine. My Pop had so many collectibles that when I moved out of
the house my room was quickly renovated into what has become a landmark
attraction, the COMIC BOOK ROOM! Pop had also made it his mission to
re-collect from his youth all the Space Patrol cosmic smoke guns he could find... and as
a result of his love for Space Patrol I dedicated a special section of the CC
site to his memories of Space Patrol. He & I worked closely to make it a
very special section of the CC site... sadly that site will probably never be
completed I have nowhere near the knowledge that he had, He had many ideas for
expanding the SP site that sadly have gone with him.
I could go on and on about how great
and special my Pop was, many of you who have gotten to know him over the years
have found him to be an honest, trustworthy and dedicated friend. I for one will
miss our daily phone conversations about comics, movies, toys, his grandkids or
to just plain talk about nothing... he spoke highly of all of you and I feel in
some small way that I got to know some of you in the process. I know if
it's possible to connect to the internet from where he is, he will see to it
that he drops in on us all from time to time!
I want to thank everyone on behalf of
my father, my Mom and the rest of our family for all the kind phone calls and
emails I (we) have received, I can't tell you how much we appreciate it.
The Crimson Collector site will
continue, in honor of my father... so I hope that you will continue to visit and
think happy thoughts about a very special man, my pop TOM MASON.
CHRIS MASON -
Crimson WebMaster
Aug. 17, 2003 (edited Sept. 16, 2003)
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