Dammit

March 3rd, 2008 by scott

Ray Orrock, my first writing hero, the man who made me realize that a writer is something a guy could become, died this morning.

I’ve known he was sick for a little while, since his family shared the bad news with me, so I knew this time was coming. But today’s e-mail still took me by surprise.

I don’t want to say a lot in this post. There’s really not that much I can say. The first sentence kinda says it all. But I do want to say a little bit about Ray.

When I was a kid, first thing I did every morning was go out and get the Argus, the paper Ray Orrock wrote for. My first stop, at least during the summer, was the first page of the Sports section, to see how the Oakland A’s did. Baseball was paramount. Then, I went to Ray’s column and read it. Devoured it. The A’s score was news I had to have. Ray’s column was what I had to read. After reading it once, maybe twice, I went back to the sports page and checked the rest of the box scores.

In a lot of ways, Ray Orrock taught me how to write. He taught me how to look at the everyday things around me and find something wonderful and worth writing about. He taught me a lot about humor.

He taught me how to use a paragraph break.

He wasn’t alone, of course. I had great teachers, encouraging parents, and I read a lot. But when it came down to it, Ray’s daily writing lesson, a lesson I didn’t always realize I was getting, made him one of the most influential and enjoyable teachers I ever had, and I owe him a great deal.

But there’s something even more important. So often in this mixed-up world, we develop heroes only to learn that, no matter how much we admire their work, as people they are tremendous let-downs. Their work might be genius, but once you learn more about them, you realize there is nothing heroic about them. They just did good work.
That’s not how it was with Ray.

Since I wrote my tribute when he retired, I’ve heard from a few of his family members. They all say the same thing: he was their hero too. If a man can be a hero to his own family, then it doesn’t matter whether he was a brilliant writer or if he picked lettuce. That man is a hero. As his daughter Eileen said in her e-mail breaking the sad news to me, “He was our everything, and we’ll miss him.”

God bless you Ray Orrock, and your family too. You really are a hero.

Posted in Words, Writing

5 Responses to “Dammit”

  1. Mary wrote on 03/3/08 at 7:00 pm :

    You said exactly what I would have, if I could write. His take on life, his view on the world made me smile and yes, even laugh out loud at times.

    I see the same thing in your writing, and I’m glad you had such a great writing hero. I really hope the book project takes shape….what a treat for the world (and I don’t just say that because I’m your wife) :)

  2. Val wrote on 03/4/08 at 12:43 pm :

    I’m sorry for the loss of your living hero, Scott. Finding someone whom you can whole-heartedly respect–professionally and personally–is a rare thing, indeed.

  3. Rocki Orrock Boyle wrote on 03/25/08 at 2:06 am :

    Scott,

    The tribute that you wrote about Dad when he retired was as wonderful and heartfelt as anything he would have written himself. And now, I can honestly say that by the very fact that you titled your blog about his passing “Dammit”, you really do “get” him. He would have laughed like crazy at that, and he would have thought it was spot on. There isn’t much else to say except “Dammit”.
    The difference is that we are both blessed and lucky as a family to have his legacy in writing. Keep doing what you’re doing…not just because you do it so well (which you do), but because generations of your family will find great comfort in it one day.
    Thank you as always for your wonderful words and thoughts in the private emails, and the ones you share with your readers.

    P.S. Mary’s absolutely right. And I’m not just saying that because she’s your wife, either.

    Have a highball and some salami as a salute to my Dad. That’s what he wanted.

    Oh, and for the heck of it - I found an old “Wit Wrencher” from a Jaborrocky column for you:

    “There are four common words in the English language ending in -dous. Tremendous, Stupendous, and Horrendous are three of them. What’s the fourth?

    I’ll write you later with the answer if you don’t figure it out. teehee

    All the best,
    Rocki Orrock Boyle

  4. scott wrote on 03/26/08 at 11:55 am :

    That’s pretty tricky one. I’m supposed to be working, but now I’m spending my time trying to figure out that fourth word. The mind naturally goes to rhymes, but the puzzle says the words end with -dous, not with -endous. And my mind keeps going to other -ous words, like rendezvous, but that one puts its d in the wrong place. Some wit wrenchers were pretty easy, but others, like this one, have me scratching my head.

    I tell you, those wit wrenchers could really be hazardous.

  5. Happy Writer « Linnea Writes wrote on 07/8/09 at 8:29 pm :

    […] July 8, 2009 I’ve read that writers are a depressed lot. We drink. We write horribly sad poems. We’re suicidal. It’s true–my favorite columnist (from ten years ago, 2000 miles from where I live now) said so, and Ray Orrock never steered me wrong. But he was a cheerful guy, and he gave me hope that the life I really, really wanted wouldn’t kill me any sooner than, say, accounting might. […]

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