Oh, this hurts so much, to write the word “was”. I am sitting here at my desk, with tears leaking from my eyes. Boss was ex-Special Forces, a family man, living in Florida with “the lovely and talented Mrs. Mongo” and kids, when he was cut down by a massive heart attack. The hearts of every single member of Ricochet.com are broken today. We are devastated by this totally-unexpected death in our ranks.
Boss Mongo, besides being a wonderful, powerful (in all senses of the word), man, was a really great writer. His posts about military life, post-military life, self-defense, and even fiction, were eagerly lapped-up by Ricochet members whenever they appeared, and often were promoted to the Main Feed by editors. In February, when Rush Limbaugh succumbed to his lung cancer, Boss wrote a lovely tribute post, which was seen by an editor at the Limbaugh Letter. That post was printed in the Limbaugh Letter for all of Rush’s family and listeners/subscribers to read. Boss was one of the most eloquent of Ricochet members.
Aside from being a great writer, Boss called in to many of the Ricochet audio-meetups (AMU) which are held every Monday night. I used to be a regular caller, but neglected to call in once I retired. When I did call in, Boss was effusive in his welcome to me, and I just loved to talk to him. He had a dry sense of humor, and a ready wit. We could make fun of each other with impunity.
As far as I know, Boss Mongo had no enemies or detractors on Ricochet. Everyone who met him in person at a meetup, or talked to him in an AMU just loved him. He sometimes got angry, but never at any other member. His tongue could be a slashing sword, but only to leftists or suck-up military members. His passing has left a great hole in Ricochet, and the site is draped in grief today.
May he rest in eternal peace. I’m sure he and Rush Limbaugh are trading stories right now.
Calling-all-RushBabes 
Amen. The best of the best. And a dear and kind man, often behind the scenes where it garnered him no public credit. I learned a phrase from Boss during a rather difficult time of my own. That phrase is “embrace the suck,” something that Wiktionary defines as “military slang [for accepting or appreciating] something that is extremely unpleasant, but unavoidable.”
For the sake of Boss, I’m doing my best. And I’m halfway there. I WILL NOT embrace the events of the last 36 hours. However, I’m very clear that they do bloody suck.
I’m afraid that’s the best I can do.
Rest in peace, my dear friend.
Ave atque vale, amicus.
I’m sorry to hear.
Kids?
Is there any sort of fundraiser or such set up to help with that?
I suggested one but nothing is set. A couple of former members rejoined when they heard the news. A couple of long-time lurkers also joined when they heard.