G..thanks for typing this out. you put it better than i could ever hope for.

It looks like his dad was born in Los Angeles: Donald Minkoff Obituary - Santa Ana, CA | Orange County Register

Mark did take a lot of flak for showing off his dad's cars as his own, but he also pointed out many times that he worked very hard all his life for his dad's businesses. A nice upbringing, if you can swing it. A lot of envy came through in the responses to his posts.

Yeah, that's a great post. I always try to treat everyone I meet with the utmost respect. You just never know of the troubles or demons they carry. Same goes for online personalities. I remember a guy on one of my motorcycle racing forums several years ago. You could tell he was old and just plain nuts. Didn't know much about him, but I was sure annoyed at his posts. So, he passed away and it comes out that the guy had this incredible history of racing, going back into the 50's. Like, a real badass. He also gave away a lot of his money in the form of track day certs to a lot of the guys on the forum. That taught me a lot.

I guess I should have posted this months ago. He was a good guy. Echo many of the diverse sentiments expressed here.

Despite not really getting along with him, I'm sorry to hear of his passing. I found most of his posts to be blatantly flaunting wealth that he had largely inherited, being that I came from a very humble background it sometimes struck a nerve with with me. I do feel sorry for him and the fact that he finally fell prey to his demons, and he did have exceptional taste in cars. RIP.

Not much to say, never met the man and as such, politely I should refrain from saying anything. Though since there is a common meeting of all here, virtual or not we do try to reach out as human nature intended.

This thread is a nice reminder.

I rather enjoyed his post and shared pictures. Its something he obviously enjoyed doing, so good for him. Nice pics of his family and outings. I think there was some of a wedding, great looking folks and another of fun group at a workshop / cookout.

Condolences to his family.

126coupe wasn't the first to receive marginal treatment here. Norm!'s treatment was the first example I witnessed here on the board. Incivility is something to which everyone can be prone. However, it seems to be getting more common here on PPOT and well off the charts in PARF. A sign of the time perhaps.

I don't think that money or material things ever buy happiness, most of us have seen enough to know this. Those things can be enjoyable if your basic state of mind is good but it sounds like he suffered from depression. It's a mental illness that can be fatal, as in this case. It affects homeless people and billionaires. Count your lucky stars if it's something you don't really understand. :)

He did seem to get enjoyment from his car hobby and his wife whom he considered attractive, (the only vote that counts). One thing is that being way into cars myself, (but with nowhere near the machinery he had), it can be very consuming with a major OCD component that leads to a lot of questioning on my part about how much time and energy I've spent/wasted on the hobby. We are almost the same age.

PPOT has become one giant sized circle-jerk. enter at your own risk. wear safety glasses. :)

Brutal honesty takes thick skin and isn't for everyone.

'specially snowflakes ;)

Kind of like Cheer's re-runs, with very few woman, typical older guys and whom believe in having chest hair :D

Well stated. I've been thinking a lot about this guy today and the Pelican community in general. It's way too easy to be a dick on the internet when someone rubs me the wrong way. I'm trying to remember if I was sarcastic to him, if I didn't type it I sure thought it. My NY resolution is to practice restraint of pen and tongue, (plus typing finger). :)

Definitely brings to mind how fragile our sanity and place in this world is. Glad he got to see his only child married.

Me too and I didn't know him and never met him, odd isn't it? Fondly we were also on the Benz 126 forums as well as he really loved that Benz chassis and had a really nice white Euro 500SEC (as well as other 126 models).

Life can be fragile.

I find that the people I run across who rub me the wrong way (annoying, bragging, showing off etc) are usually covering up for some serious insecurities if I take the time to look for it. Then I don't find them as frustrating but instead look at them with some pity. Maybe a bit of this here?

Anyway, sad to hear this RIP 126 coupe

There are some on the forum who annoy me, the shouty, angry types (you know who you are) but he was never one of them. Clearly a breast man. I enjoyed his threads and always read his posts.

I liked his taste in cars and envied his racing gig - Vancouver is not a particularly race-friendly climate. I thought his overt display of his wife was questionable but, different strokes…

At 57 he has left behind people who weren't ready for his passing and will miss him. Sounds like his demons got the better of him. I try to practice the golden rule here. Sometimes easier said than done.
RIP Mark.

I went and looked at his and his wife's FB pages. I wanted to send her a message saying that the Pelican community had just found out and to send her condolences but she seems to be getting along ok by now and I didnt think it would be a good idea to bring it up again. Some people may embrace that, and others might not so I just let it go.

One of the best classes I ever took in high school was Sociology.

Do they even teach that anymore?

We learned all about why humans behave the way that they do.

Once you understand the science behind things.....it's a little easier to deal with.

Insecurity and lack of self esteem accounts for a WHOLE lot of personality aberrations.

Also - did you know one of the (if not the) hardest thing there is to do is to be honest with one's self?

Life is about the journey...not the destination.....

You left out "pimp hand". :D

In seriousness, suicide has touched my life more than once. 126coupe seemed like a great guy to hang with and chow down on some of his excellent cooking. I was impressed with his way around the track and the kitchen.

I hope his family is finally coping with the loss and has found peace. Trust me, to lose someone who is healthy, vibrant, seems to have it all and is suddenly gone is a HUGE blow. RIP Mark.