Frank McCallister - In Memoriam
Frank McCallister passed away this week. Frank was an SBS MVP. He loved to say he was the oldest MVP. But more importantly he was a real friend. His stories would hold your attention, but the real story was Frank. He called himself "the Old Fart". But that name does not describe all that he did and would do for people. Frank, we will miss you.
In tribute to Frank, I've reworked the lyrics of the song "The Gambler", made famous by Kenny Rogers (YouTube video).
The Old Fart (aka The Gambler)
Dedicated to Frank McCallister
On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for ‘Bama,
I met up with the old fart; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.
He said, "Son, I've made a life out of readin' people's emails,
And knowin' what their logs showed, by the way they signed their names.
And if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you’re out of disk space.
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."
So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.
You got to know when to defrag, know when to format,
Know when to reinstall, ‘cause I’m the old fart.
You never say you’re thirsty when you're sittin' at the console.
There'll be time enough for drinkin' when the (MVP) party starts
Ev'ry old fart knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' emails to throw away and knowing what to keep.
'Cause ev'ry email's a winner and ev'ry email's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."
And when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window,
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the darkness the old fart, he broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.
You got to know when to defrag, know when to format,
Know when to reinstall, ‘cause I’m the old fart.
You never say you’re thirsty when you're sittin' at the console.
There'll be time enough for drinkin' when the (MVP) party starts
-kw