Oh dear dDog

[Crimpfiend]

Ray, the one thing you’ve always been is a brutally honest, no-frills kinda guy, generous and loyal, willing to step up when things get tough and the first to admit your own shortcomings or screw-ups. I personally value your candor and would definitely trust you with my life, money & anything I hold dear.

I think BASE jumpers are a unique band of brothers (and sisters), a beautiful but dysfunctional melting pot of sensitive and volatile personalities, ethical outlaws who break all rules of conventionality but demand to be protected under the same rules that we break. We look out for each other and we are each other’s worst critics. We lay with our wounded and we tar & feather those who burn our sites. The dichotomies abound.

It takes all types to round-out a subculture as distinctive as BASE and I never thought that I, as a devoted Christian, would ever consider die-hard atheists (and borderline Satan-worshippers :-P) as some of my dearest friends. But these are people that I’d lay down my life for and for whom I’d shed countless tears for if they were to leave this place.

I look back on the past 5 or so years that have been filled with both the best of times and the worst imaginable pain. Losing so many loved ones out of our ‘core’ group - Nik, Dwain & Slim - certainly took its toll on everyone and things will never be the same. But that’s simply the evolution of BASE and of life. People manage their struggles in their own way and do the best they can to get by.

I don’t judge or criticize Ray for being pissed off at Doug - he has reason to be. I have plenty reason to be. And so do quite a few others for one reason or another - the list is long and the reasons run pretty darn convoluted and deep. It’s a challenge for those of us who’ve been burned by Doug to immediately feel sympathy or empathy for him, after we’ve extended trust and reached out in friendship and sincerity to him for so long. Lashing out at Doug on the boards was a visceral knee-jerk reaction by people who’ve been hurt by him, maybe something akin to cracking a smile when the schoolyard bully gets taken to the principle’s office.

BUT, I don’t agree that it’s right or productive in the long run to be gleeful at another person’s hard times. The bitterness will slowly eat away at your soul and turn into a dark ugliness, which is hard to get rid of after it’s been sitting there for a while. And the cheerful gloating will eventually turn into a weird type of guilt/shame-complex… I believe this because I know that those who are pissed off at Doug are good quality people and will probably see things in a different light at some point in the future, feeling bad later on.

We all dig our own ditches and must accept full culpability for the choices we make. None of us is perfect and if we choose to, we can all peer into each other’s glass houses. Doug made some risky choices in many areas of his life and he’s now having to deal with the consequences. I personally don’t wish ill upon him at all and hope that things work out in the best possible way for him. Everyone deserves compassion and I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’ve all been granted 2nd (and 3rd/10th/101st) chances in life. That’s the beauty of it all -- nothing’s ever set in stone in this life.

In the end, there are more important things going on in the world and in our lives to focus on. Let’s turn our attention toward those and keep good vibes out there for ALL who need them.

- Karin

[ManBird]

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/orego...6795204270.xml

Really damn sad story...

[BASE_689]

After having read also the latest article (whose link was posted by Manbird), I realize that the "venom" mentioned by Tom referring to other folks's words (Ray to tell one...) is not exactly something "free" (sorry for my words not being perhaps perfect but not being myself a native speaker of English I am not able to express perfectly all the shades of the language) but those words are coming from someone directly involved (and touched) by Doug's actions.
D-dog and Tom were my guests in my home along their Europe tour, a couple of years ago (I already knew Doug from fame because of his writings on the BASE Board). For the few hours we hanged out together, we had some fun, sharing stories and other. Then we watched some BASE videos of myself and my crew and we went to sleep. Morning came and they went heading for their way.
Yes, I consider Doug to be a friend being him a fellow BASE jumper and I support him as a person and as a fellow BASE jumper. I am also, I have to admit, capable of saying so because I haven't been touched by the moneywise actions Doug did to some people. The article express clearly what, moneywise, he did (sorry to stir the pot but facts by newspaper talk quite clearly...).
So I hope folks reading my post (Ray included) understand why I am with Doug as a person (from "A Big Wednesday": "When you are right, it is easy that everybody is on your side; it's when you are wrong that you need that your friends are on your side and support you"), I hope that he will have the less trouble possible and the shortest conviction possible.
At the same time, I also undestand that chaps like Ray talk like they talked, having been touched personally and financially (I understand it is not pleasant at all).
Just my 0.02€ in support (for what is worth) to Doug.

[Nick_D]

Yikes . . .

NickD
BASE 194

[hamsandwich]

and thus £52 per gram - which is more realistic.

50 quid??? You're getting ripped off.

Street value exagerated, the law's the law. We all know the consequences of getting caught in a national park as we do of smuggling 372 pounds of cocaine.

Coincidentally, one week ago I was in Bolivia. Since supply is now low in the US, I wonder if this would be a good opportunity get into the game!


-A

-- Opinons are like assholes... the interent is full of them.

[cj]

Sorry to hear this Ddog. Though we don't know eachother well, I hope you do remermber that you have an apoinment with me for a coup of coffe, and a jump in Oslo when you get over here the next time. By the souds of thing it migh take a while, but I'm sending you the best spirirts at this stage hoping you're getting you selv the finest attorneys money can buy so we can get around to this jump we agreed on, and not to speak of the coffee.

As far as I'm concerned there's probably a lot left ot be dealt with befor we know more, and rumoures ha a tendancy to provide a helluva lot better stories. Keepin fingers crossed that this turnes out just great in your favour, and that we'll see you this side of he world in due time.

People do end up in the strangest situations at the most peculiar times; no need for pointing fingers as far as I'm conerned

Sending you warm thoughts from Norgie land!

Hang in there

CJ =)

[neil]

I thought "guilt" was pronouced following a complete judicial process involving prosecution and defence. Seems that being charged in the US is enough to send you to the guillotine (at least from what I am reading). God Bless the USA (and thats a piss take).

Oh yeah, if I have ever upset anyone, I TRULY AND UNRESERVEDLY APOLOGISE. That way, if I ever femur or end up in hospital you can all send me flowers and good wishes.

[Raymond Losli]

Hey.... Manbird thanks for posting the Link.

It was very interesting reading the Paper early this morning at coffee.

I even learned a few thing I did not know about his Mom and Dad.

Wow.... What a roller coaster life / Complex past and family history.
I don't feel so bad about my slightly dysfunctional Family after reading.
I feel Lucky.

thanks dude
.

[ManBird]

I thought "guilt" was pronouced following a complete judicial process involving prosecution and defence. Seems that being charged in the US is enough to send you to the guillotine (at least from what I am reading). God Bless the USA (and thats a piss take).

Oh yeah, if I have ever upset anyone, I TRULY AND UNRESERVEDLY APOLOGISE. That way, if I ever femur or end up in hospital you can all send me flowers and good wishes.

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/...c_spink001.cfm

Well, he was really caught with his pants down. This wasn't an 8ball. "The cocaine haul is believed to be the largest in county history, and may also be a state record, officials said." He's pleading innocent. The pickup was witnessed and he was caught in possession. What's he gonna say, "I thought this was hey... for my horses." Now that he's caught, a lot of people are apparently wanting to get in on carrying THEIR charges through.

Hey, I don't think the "sh1t talking" about Doug is necessarily as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Here's the reality folks, he's burned a lot of people. People who trusted him. His friends and business partners. It just took a little time. So you saw him once, or chatted with him twice, or made three jumps with him. Chances are, you didn't have anything he wanted, or you just weren't around long enough to get burned. Look at what people are saying. He WORKED on them. He BUILT their trust over time, until he could make a big haul and disappear.

Look through here and DZ.com. You'll see *warnings* from people that knew him. This isn't some unfounded sh1t talking. Yeah, he's a "nice" guy. But I have a strong feeling, with a LOT of evidence, that his being a "nice" guy, is just a mask for something underneath, and I'm amazed that so many people are in line to side up with that.

We all have our quirks and make mistakes. Hell, I'd say a lot of us are more criminals and drug fiends than your average Joe. But this is NOT on the same level.

OK, rant over. I may really be putting myself out on a limb with these statements, but I'm just getting frustrated with the comments like, "Hey, he was nice when I talked to him that one time, so he's a great guy," when people who knew him for a year or more are saying, "That bastard stabbed me in the back."

Spink also "is associated" with several British Columbia driver's licenses that list different dates of birth. He turns 34 on Thursday, according to records.

Spink poses a potential flight risk in part because he "is currently involved in bankruptcy proceedings in which allegations of fraud have been lodged, and is a judgment debtor for several million dollars in other proceedings," according to the detention order.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!

[space]

Can anyone give me an address to send a caring note? Though I haven't met him, I cannot cast the first stone and would like him to know that I care.
thanks in advance.
take care,
space

[space]

@ Ray. You be being judgemental. The very same thing you condemn. We all came from the loins of our parents. No one is born into innocence. Take care my friend.
space

[rhondalea]

Can anyone give me an address to send a caring note? Though I haven't met him, I cannot cast the first stone and would like him to know that I care.
thanks in advance.
take care,
space

Dear Trace,

I'm just waiting to hear back from the facility--his inmate register number is a required part of the address. After turning in circles for a couple of days, I finally smartened up and emailed SeaTac rather late on Friday. If I don't have the information by Monday afternoon, I'll phone after I get off work, and I'll send you his address right away.

If anyone else wants to write to him, please let me know.

As to Ray, don't be hard on him, Trace. He maybe needs to learn the meaning of "discretion," but he's a good guy.

143

rl

[rhondalea]

Okay, here we go. First of all, this is the Bureau of Prisons' page detailing contact rules for SeaTac:

http://www.bop.gov/DataSource/execut...cilityCode=set

And this is Doug's address:

DOUG SPINK
REGISTER NUMBER 35132-086
FDC SEATAC
FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER
P.O. BOX 13900
SEATTLE, WA 98198

[ManBird]

@ Ray. You be being judgemental. The very same thing you condemn. We all came from the loins of our parents. No one is born into innocence. Take care my friend.
space

Of course we aren't born into innocence. That doesn't mean that we have to live a rampage of an existence.

Space, in all due respect.... Doug was here for years, and Ray had to put up with him, and get burned by him. How can you call those directly affected by Doug, for years, judgmental? However, deeming him as "innocent" when you've either never met him or met him only a couple times, IS being judgmental. Just because you give someone a positive review doesn't mean you aren't being judgmental.

Makes no sense... take two people you've never met, Ray and Doug. Doug has a few BASE jumps and long history of burning and ripping off people (and telling the paper about all the local exit points to make himself look cool). Ray has a long history of skydiving and BASE jumping, helping other get into BASE safely (including Doug), and was burned by Doug on many levels. Why side with the prior?

Doug uses kind words to your face, and Ray tells it like it is, like it or not. Is that it? Well, hell, if all it takes is a few kind words to cover up some major theft and the burning of your friends, then my self-serving life of crime is going to begin right now. The online world is socially backwards.

Only actions matter.

[rhondalea]

Only actions matter.

"Be careful of that," she said, as she rubbed a sore cheek, "because it may come back to bite you in the ass."

I have this soapbox that I'm keeping carefully chained under the bed, so I only have a couple of comments. Rhonda: succinct. Ah, there's an oxymoron.

First of all, what I said to Trace about Ray, I would say to you about Trace.

The second thing is that we all go through the same stages dealing with what appears to be increasing evil in the world. What I would say to you is what I tried to tell Ray earlier, and what Karin stated far more eloquently. Let me try now one more time to explain.

My .sig of the moment says: "The world is filled with evil, and there are two ways to react. The first way is easy, and wrong. To accept it. The second way is harder, but right. You fight it, and help others who fight to endure."

I really believe that. But allow me to play fast and loose with Godwin's Law here a second and point out that the time to do something about the Holocaust was before it became a holocaust, NOT AFTER. Talking about it now doesn't change anything, undo anything, bring back the millions of innocent people who died.

IOW, beating Doug Spink with a virtual stick does nothing to fix those who feel injured by him.

But it diminishes you.

This is what it is to be human: to have empathy for the suffering of others and to do what you can to ease that suffering.

If you lose your empathy, if you allow your rage, your righteous indignation, to take over your heart and guide your actions, you will become what it is you most despise.

<blushes and kicks soapbox back under bed> I tried, really I did, but in the end, I guess I just have a big mouth.

rl