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pwd72s pwd72s is online now
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Linn County, Oregon
Posts: 48,832
Is it possible to feel a deep sadness for the death of an internet friend

Or...do I have a mental problem? His name is Jim Harper, passed on the 4th. Posted on the IMBOC (Bullitt Mustang) board as Jimbob. 78, Vietnam vet, recently lost his wife..He in love with 50's and 60's USA cars..a Cleveland resident. Really fond of those I'd call luxobarge ragtops..Buicks, Caddy, Lincoln, Mopar, etc. He'd post a specific car, give details, then a string of photos of "Kuties". He also had a history of playing in bar bands when younger...sort of how he met his wife after getting a "dear John" when in 'Nam from a girl he was engaged to. So, he'd post youtubes of himself & guitar, doing covers...no, not a great talent, but he loved doing it. He was a huge Beatles fan, loved the top guitar players..both rock & country, Glen Campbell near the top...but also Billy Strings & others.

I could go on more...but you get the drift...over a decade or more, I began to feel I really knew the guy, me responding to his posts as the straight man. When his death was confirmed, it hit me...hard! Almost the same as when my long time buddy died in an industrial accident. Still feeling that sadness...the one that upsets your gut.

Is it mentally healthy to feel this...the loss of someone you've really never met? Can't help it...there it is.

If anybody would like more insight, here's the last few pages of the "nifty 50's" thread Jimbob kept going...

https://www.imboc.com/threads/nifty-50s-thread.163311/page-2815
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Old 01-07-2026, 10:58 AM
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