Remembering Neskie Manuel

Neskie and Margret Inoue at ICT Summit, February 2010

Neskie about to juggle, ICT Summit, February 2010

I visited Neskie at his home in August 2010 during a marathon 6-day motorcycle trip from Victoria to Edmonton and back. I met Neskie a year earlier at an ICT Conference in Vancouver and I had wanted to catch up with him about referrals tracking systems, Drupal coding, and life in general.

I found Neskie at his parents business, the gas station east of Chase. We dropped my motorcycle at his house and he lent me a bicycle for a ride into town for lunch. At almost every corner Neskie stopped and chatted with friends and acquaintances. We ate soup and sandwiches inside a local sandwich shop, happy to be out of the mid-day heat. Neskie spoke of his web-radio work and his work on council. On the ride home, we stopped at his friends' communal farm and chatted to some hard-working hippies. Before I left, Neskie showed some new juggling moves.

Neskie juggling at home, August 2010

Neskie teamed up with Patrick and I during the 2010 ICT Conference, and we gave a hands-on workshop on using Drupal for posting multimedia and maps. Neskie also helped us with some theming work on the Hartley Bay website rebuild.

I think of Neskie every week these days and, though sad, am grateful to have met him. I will never forget his broad easy-going smile, good humour, and bright mind.

Charles - August 2011