John Booth, LMTU..."May He Rest In Peace"....

[Guest travelerjim]

Dear GT Friends,

 

I have just received word from a good Expat friend of mine who has been caring for LMTU,
John Booth.... during his cancer illness.

John Booth passed away today in Thailand....Either on Thursday morning April 25, 2013
or Friday morning April 26th in my friends home in Bangkok. I have asked for clarification of the date.

In his final days, weeks and most recent months, my Expat friend & his brother opened their Bangkok home to assist John in his cancer battle. Caring for him night and day.

They did this as a humanitarian gesture.

I will post additional information if and as it becomes available for sharing.

John Booth, LMTU ...has passed.....May He Rest In Peace

 

tj

 

 

 

[Guest fountainhall]

I am sad for this friends, and glad for him that his suffering did not last long.

[Guest scottishguy]

I never knew LMTU but it seemed to me that he enjoyed his life, and that is the main thing.

 

 

[ceejay]

I never met LMTU and only "knew" him through his many posts on the various message boards. Personally, I could never understand the strength of the feelings, positive and negative, that he seemed to arouse in others. One thing is for sure: the boards will be different places without him. A suggestion: perhaps we could all get clicking on the "refresh" button and give this thread a few thousand views. That, at least, would have given him a laugh.

[TotallyOz]

John was a great deal of fun to go out and spend time with him. He made many a boring evening for me very enjoyable and full of laughs. He will be missed.

 

RIP

[Guest travelerjim]

GT Friends...

My Expat friend who took care of John in his final months...
has informed me that funeral arrangements are pending...

I will post the details as they become known.

tj

[kokopelli]

Traveler Jim; you and your friends are to be commended upon your thoughtfulness and compassion shown to Jon in his last days and passing. One is reminded of a quote by Walter Winchell ( an American columnist)

 

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walk out."

[Guest travelerjim]

Traveler Jim; you and your friends are to be commended upon your thoughtfulness and compassion shown to Jon in his last days and passing. One is reminded of a quote by Walter Winchell ( an American columnist)

 

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walk out."

 

The real credit goes to my Expat friend and his brother who endured the final months and days....

indeed a labor of compassion and love ...right to the end. They were there for John day & night...

in my friends home as John ...suffering from pain & cancer...had no where else to go...until he died last Friday morning.

 

I am but a messenger sharing what updates I receive from my friend.

I applaud the real caretakers in John's dying days, weeks and months.

 

I assume there is much paperwork regarding the death of a non-Thai,

requiring not only Thai authorities, Death Certificates...and the UK Embassy...

in order for release to friends for a funeral.

 

My friend said he will update me when more news about a funeral or any arrangements

have been finanlized. I will post ASAP.

 

tj

[Guest scottishguy]

In that case, your expat friend and his brother deserve the utmost praise for having the extraordinary human kindness to take it upon themselves to show such care and compassion to someone in John's tragic condition, when they had absolutely no obligation to do so other than their own humanity.

 

I have often said I don't believe there is any such thing as the much-vaunted "gay community" - but at times there are individuals who put others to shame with their decency.

 

To think that a terminally ill man in the final days of his life had no money for treatment and nowhere to go to die, is truly appalling. I'm an athiest but somebody or something must have guided him into the arms of your wonderful friends.

 

Hats off to them - and to yourself for keeping us informed.

 

[Guest luvthai]

It has been several days since I learned of Mr. Booth passing.  I am surprised at how often I think of him and his postings.  As i stated elsewhere I did not know him but observed him on several occasions at various beer bars.  What a colorfull figure he was and how sad another bright lite of pattaya has been put out.  May he find peace in the after life.

[Guest fountainhall]

I have often said I don't believe there is any such thing as the much-vaunted "gay community" - but at times there are individuals who put others to shame with their decency

 

Your post is beautifully written. Hats off to you, Scotty   (If I could have found a tam o'shanter emoticon, I'd have used it!)

[Guest travelerjim]

GT Friends,

 

It is now Monday in Thailand and my friend is awaiting the OK from the British Embassy ...

for their completion of the necessary paperwork...and release of John Booth's body for a funeral.

 

The date for the funeral has not been set yet, however,

my friend did say it would be in the Minburi area.

 

More info as I learn of the funeral details.

 

tj

[Guest travelerjim]

Dear Friends,

Here is my Expat friends message about the funeral and cremation arrangements

for John Booth:

Hi Jim,

After spending all day at the British Embassy and the Thai forensic hospital,

I managed to get John's body released at 4pm today.

I am now at the temple where John will be cremated tomorrow ...

at 4pm....WEDNESDAY MAY 1st.

The temple is called Watsutthisaad. it's on Nimitmai road, Klong Samwan near Minburi.

Sorry for the short notice but the Thai's are doing things their way.

I have advised friends, but could you please put this info on the boards.

Thanks Jim.

tj

 

 

 

[Guest travelerjim]

My Expat friend has posted this message on his Facebook page...
following the Funeral and Cremation of John Booth, LMTU Tuesday afternoon in Minburi:

"Parting is such sweet sorrow'… just said goodbye to a Mate, Adversary, Friend, someone I’ve been close to for 18 years.
RIP John. you were mad, drove me crazy, but we had a blast at times…
God Bless mate. I’ll miss you…RIP xx"

May I add ...

God Bless You my friend....for the incredible caring you provided John in his final months battle against Cancer. Both you and your brother are indeed compassionate and caring souls...having taken John into your home in his greatest hours of need. As you have said: RIP John...he will be missed by many who really knew him.... and those who knew of him in the "virtual" world.

tj

[Guest fountainhall]

. . . he will be missed by many who really knew him.... and those who knew of him in the "virtual" world.

 

Jim, you have been kind in keeping everyone up to date with regard to John Booth's passing and then his funeral. Thank you for that.

 

It is appropriate when someone dies to express one’s feelings in a restrained and dignified way. Most posters on this and other forums have, I believe, behaved in such a manner as a mark of respect for the deceased.

 

However, now that his funeral is over and normal posting without LMTU/HeyGay can resume, it is, I think, more than appropriate to reassess the posting legacy of Mr. Booth’s personae. Here I will no doubt annoy some when I suggest that amidst all the enconiums about what a lovely man and friend he was, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that, as a poster, he frequently took a near vicious delight in shamelessly putting down others.

 

I will not go into the instances - of which there were many - when, accused of being, shall I say, economical with the truth, he would never admit to being wrong - even when he was quite frequently wrong! “I’m right, you’ll see,” would eventually be followed by “I’m only posting what I’ve been told!” A friend wrote elsewhere about how posting to him was "merely a source of entertainment."

 

Excuse me? Entertainment? Have we all really forgotten the relish with which he revealed, rather as though unlayering an onion, all the “you heard it first from me” gossip following the suicide of the owner of Panorama Bar and Funny Boys? This was a man whom others praised as taking great care of his staff, a popular member of the gay community and one who helped others when they most needed it – even in one case when a man was dying. Day after day Mr. Booth spilled the beans on the most personal, intimate details of this poor man’s final days wherever he was permitted to post, even as others expressed their utter shock and distaste.

 

Where at that time was Mr. Booth’s restraint for the tragic death of a fellow human being and respected member of the Pattaya gay community – similar to the respect most have recently been paying him? Absolutely nowhere! Did he withhold his relish for malicious gossip at that man’s funeral? No, he did not! Instead, he revealed to the world how many of those to whom the deceased owed money had appeared at the Wat, not to pay respects (how could he possibly know that?), but to swarm in the hope that some saleable items would enable them to get some return on their lost loans and investments. The unalloyed gloating in his reportage was utterly loathsome! And some have the gall to call this "entertainment"!

 

Let us therefore recall that in his posting guises, Mr. Booth was often – not always, but often - a callous, distasteful and bitterly unsympathetic poster, whatever he may have been in real life. But then, very few of us actually knew him in real life. We can only make a judgement based on his various posting records. As someone said a few days ago on another forum, it’s time for the hagiography to end.

[kokopelli]

Wow, I leaned two new words I never knew existed; encomium and hagiography!

 

FH, did you misspell "enconium" in memory of LMTU's abuse of the English language?

[Guest fountainhall]

Would it really be appropriate to write about LMTU/HeyGay without at least one spelling error? You are correct, though. It should indeed be "encomium". Those darned letters are side by side on the keyboard! 

[Guest scottishguy]

Okay Founty, point taken - but the guy's dead - let's move on.

 

  

[TotallyOz]

I for one was very happy that everyone that posted about him on this forum had class. Until today.

[Bob]

As for what's appropriate or classy (or less than classy), hell if I know.  I've always thought we humans have horrible manners and abilities dealing with the issues of a final illness, death, and funerals.  Pretty much nobody says the obvious or the truth and that's likely due to some sense of tact bequeathed from our mommas versus any actual intent to be untruthful. But I find the usual embellishment to be about as tactless as taking potshots at somebody who obviously has no ability to defend himself.

 

However, based on my experience of attending way too many funerals since I was a child, I do wish to provide some advance notice.  The next time somebody is observing a decedent and then blurts out "oh, doesn't he/she look good?", I shall blurt out: "Good!!!!! You gotta be kidding me, he/she is fucking dead!!!" 

[Guest fountainhall]

I fully respect the comments made by others. But let me ask again of Michael - please tell me what tiny shred of respect was shown by LMTU/HeyGay in the style and manner of his postings to the very tragic circumstances of the death of the owner of Funny Boys and Panorama Bar? And if you are hurt by my comments, do you not think the friends, family and colleagues of that poor man driven to suicide were equally hurt by the comments of HeyGay/LMTU - if not more so, given the circumstances? A host of posters on this site were appalled!

 

I thought for a long time before writing as I did. I am genuinely sorry that my post upset Michael - and probably others who knew and enjoyed the company of the deceased. And, as I said, it is right that everyone, no matter their own feelings, show respect for the dead for a period of time. Time, though, does not change facts, and the problem with Boards like this - if problem it is - is that the facts of a life of posting remain for all to see. What Marc Anthony says in his oration following the death of Caesar remains generally true, "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." I'll merely say that in assessing a posting personality, some sense of balance is necessary.

[TotallyOz]

I fully respect the comments made by others. But let me ask again of Michael - please tell me what tiny shred of respect was shown by LMTU/HeyGay in the style and manner of his postings to the very tragic circumstances of the death of the owner of Funny Boys and Panorama Bar? And if you are hurt by my comments, do you not think the friends, family and colleagues of that poor man driven to suicide were equally hurt by the comments of HeyGay/LMTU - if not more so, given the circumstances? A host of posters on this site were appalled!

Let me be clear, I am not upset or angry at you in the least. I thought what you wrote was crass and unneeded. The history does indeed speak for itself. There was nothing you wrote that you have not expressed in the past. Was there really a need to rehash it here in this thread? Is it something you just needed to get off your chest?

 

I also think unfair to compare someone who killed themselves to someone who died of cancer. I guess I have so much more sympathy for those that die of cancer based on many family members who I cared for in the end of their life with the same problem. So, yes, I am biased as well in that.

 

IMHO, What he did/said was wrong and nasty. What you wrote was the same. But, I grew up in the deep south and was always taught to not speak ill of the dead. What is past is past.

 

Let me just ask you, do two wrongs make a right? The man is now dead for goodness sake. Let him rest in peace.

[Bob]

Having been taught much the same as Michael, I somewhat wonder why and how people came up with that axiom.  Worried about being haunted later?  In reality, a decedent is neither "resting in peace" nor able to hear a damn thing.  On the other hand, I'm sorta alive at times but often can't hear a damn thing either!

 

Or, if I'm wrong, then there's little doubt that JB is frantically typing the big scoop on the message board in the sky regarding FH's and Michael's handbag-at-noon scuffle already! 

[Guest fountainhall]

I also think unfair to compare someone who killed themselves to someone who died of cancer

 

I wrote what I wrote - and I stand by it. I was not planning to amplify it or comment further in any way. But I absolutely cannot let this sentence above go unanswered, Michael.

 

I am no psychiatrist, but I believe many of those who commit suicide do so after many weeks - if not months or more - of mental torment and agony. Like you, I have had family members and friends die of cancer, including my father, all like the late John Booth comforted by friends and in their cases also family. I have also known two friends who committed suicide. I witnessed the intensity of their pain and suffering. No medical treatment nor the love and compassion of family and friends could drag them out of their extended depressions. To suggest that there is little or no comparison between those who die by suicide and those unfortunate to die as a result of cancer is, in my book, hugely uncharitable at best.

 

As for not speaking ill of the dead, again I said what I said. Others seem not to agree with you, though, as we have seen very recently in the thread dealing with the very recent death of Margaret Thatcher.

[TotallyOz]

I wrote what I wrote - and I stand by it.

I knew you would. You are passionate about the subject.

 

To suggest that there is little or no comparison between those who die by suicide and those unfortunate to die as a result of cancer is, in my book, hugely uncharitable at best.

I also wrote what I wrote and stand by it.

 

Cancer which is often not curable by meds and people fight hard to survive is not the same as someone deciding to take their own life. I have had several friends commit suicide and while it is hard for friends and family, it is also their decision. An unstable mind may have led to the decision but for many it is was a decision that made that was easier than living. Those that die of cancer do not get to make that decision. Sorry, but there is little comparison between the two and I am sorry about but I don't not feel sorry for those that take their own life. They made a decision and I respect that and I do believe they should have that right. It may be uncharitable of me but I don't feel sorry for someone who makes a decision to do this. I admit that someone young making that decision brings about different emotions to me than someone who is an adult.

 

As for not speaking ill of the dead, again I said what I said. Others seem not to agree with you, though, as we have seen very recently in the thread dealing with the very recent death of Margaret Thatcher.

I am so glad you think of John and Margaret in the same way. You are too kind and I am sure he is happy you consider him so important.