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In Memorium: Shaun Mullen, A Most Generous Man

Author, editor, blogger, and so much more Shaun Mullen has passed. Noting his blog Kiko's House hadn't been updated in a while, I did a search and discovered his obituary.

My friendship with Shaun goes back to 2006. While living in Australia, I'd discovered his blog when searching for informed commentary on US foreign policy in the Middle East. Sadly, much of that policy remains unchanged 14 years later, but that is for another post. Shaun  had noticed that his blog wasn't rendering correctly in Internet Explorer and asked if anyone could suggest a fix. I, being a bit of a tech head at the time, suggested Firefox or similar browser, and the problem was solved.

We kept in and out of touch, finding common ground in music (I mentioned my love for the Grateful Dead and Shaun sent a dozen CDs of concert recordings. By International mail. The man was generous to a fault.), worldview, and more. My old site got its greatest number of hits when Shaun linked to a few of my photos and posts, a simple act that led to a syncstorm that continues to unfold to this day.

I was excited for Shaun upon the release of his first book, The Bottom Of The Fox: A True Story of Love, Devotion & Cold-Blooded Murder. As a collector of signed books, I asked if I could send him a copy to sign, and would include return postage. He countered with a more generous offer: buy one copy on Amazon and he'd mail me a signed copy. Two for the price of one. So very Shaun.

Fatherhood has taken a great deal of time and energy, and I have allowed old friendships and acquaintances fall by the wayside, contact with Shaun being a victim of such. When he released his second book, There's A House In The Land: (Where A Band Can Take A Stand) in 2014, I put it on my list to read. It will arrive tomorrow, after a much-too-long delay.

Rest in peace, Shaun. Those fortunate enough to have known or encountered you in life will never forget, and those yet to discover your written works are in for a pleasant surprise.

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