I first met Doug as a Mercer, wearing his stepfather's name, in like 1959, at Sealth High School. We were on the Stage Crew together. He was going to be a rock star and a race car designer. I was going to be a successful writer and actor. Well he hand-built several cars, forming some parts out of a basement forge he made; one of them was an amphibian vehicle. He had several images of Gokwiis on Feel Free To Laugh. Maybe he will pull them up again for the new readers of this cool site. I did become a professional actor for a short decade in the late 60's, before I got a real job as a Spec Ed Teacher. He opened up his own garage; Palmer Automotive, in the Greenwood district of Seattle.
Only a few friendships can stand the test over fifty years duration, but ours has endured. It was his enthusiasm for technology that started me blogging, and stimulated me to get active on Facebook. Now I am addicted, and my retirement days are never long enough to get it all in. I was always a writer, and he suffered through a couple of my attempts at writing a novel, and has always supported the notion that my poetry has some validity.
He retired before the rest of us; always leading the way, but still self-deprecating, too smart for his shirt, and a maverick in all environs. It is an honor to still have a place in his life; hope it continues for decades more.
Glenn Buttkus
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