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Neil Peart Has Passed Away


southpaw2k5
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My spirits are low in the depths of despair

 

My thoughts are of his young daughter, Olivia. So young to have to endure this. I'm so sorry and sad for his wife, his parents, his close friends. For us.

 

But I am happy for Neil. He's beyond his pain now. Beyond his suffering. He's now seen his loved one, Jackie, again. He's been able to hug and hold her and their daughter, Selena. I can only try to imagine what he's already experiencing and the souls that he will be encountering.

 

I've joked about this previously on these forums. Rush played my wedding reception. We had 17,000 guests. No, Rush didn't realize it and those 17,000 guests didn't know they were attending my reception. I married my also-Rush-loving wife on August 14th, 2010 in Las Vegas. That night, we attended the Rush concert at the MGM. That was in fact the last time we saw Rush in concert. I lost count of how many Rush concerts I saw all together. It started with the Moving Pictures tour at Chicago's Amphitheater. We didn't have the money to attend further concerts after Las Vegas. So it's sort of nice that we'll always be able to say that the last time we saw Rush was our wedding night.

 

I hope that some day (many years from now) I'll be able to encounter Neil Peart in the Beyond, and thank him for his words, his music and for all that he and Rush has meant to me and done for me. And will continue to do for me. The artistry of Neil, Geddy and Alex and Rush will exist forever.

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How do I say how devastated I am in such a way that really shows it.

 

It seems silly to be this upset about the loss of someone I never met, but what can you do?

 

Rush has a strong cult following. This is what fanatical cult followers do. They see the band as family, or role models, heroes, or even gods.

 

Is this a bad thing? That’s up for debate.... :LOL:

Edited by Principled Man
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How do I say how devastated I am in such a way that really shows it.

 

It seems silly to be this upset about the loss of someone I never met, but what can you do?

 

Rush has a strong cult following. This is what fanatical cult followers do. They see the band as family, or role models, heroes, or even gods. Is this a bad thing? That’s up for debate.... :LOL:

 

Never hero worship or mortal Gods for me.

 

It was all about Neil as a kid and learning how to play the drums.

 

The cult following is cliche because Rush never fit into the mainstream. The only humans who followed them were nerds who jacked off to vhs porn. Played Tempest by Atari. Were always labeled to "be cool or be cast out." Played Dungeons & Dragons. Loved reading comic books. A fan boi band. Most chicks hate Rush. A sausage fest for the cult following to swallow whole.

 

Sad really.

 

I had a hot blonde for 21 years. She was always in the pit with me. Surrounded by men in Rush shirts. She was so rare in the pit at Marysville during the S&A Tour that Alex spotted her and handed her a guitar pick while the lights were out before they went into "The Way The Wind Blows."

 

Oh yes.

 

I am a fanatical fan. It's what a fan is in a shortened English word sense.

 

I have seen so much in my life thanks to "Following" Rush.

 

I have no regrets. Only incredible memories. I have met so many amazing people around North America. over the decades.

 

Hell, I am still typing on this forum since 2006. I never drank the Kool Aid man. I'm just a nerd who fell in love with intellectual music. I am a drummer man. Never made it big, but I'm damn good and I owe it all to Neil.

 

I could write a book about my Rush travels. My experiences. But no one would read it.

 

"Are You Experienced?"

 

Love,

 

Jimi Hendrix

 

 

Please don't label me. I have the history and the memories to back it up.

Edited by RUSHHEAD666
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I found out after getting off of work yesterday, it felt like I was punched in the stomach. I couldn't even eat I was shaking and crying so much. I've been crying off and on ever since, more so today because yesterday felt like a bad dream.
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Hello Rush family...

 

I'm still at a total loss for words.

 

I'm surprised not surprised at how this news has effected not just me, but so many of us fans.

It was a long time friend and fellow member here that informed me of the news via text. it was a picture of Neil with the words below it that said RIP Professor. my reply was WHAT ???????? Immediately searched on my phone and found what he was talking about... :(

Stunned. disbelief. tears flowed. Blindsided. I guess for me that's why it hit me so hard. Didn't see it coming.

I recently lost a friend / fellow fan to cancer. He was a member here on TRF. Known the man for 30+ years and it was our shared fandom that brought us together. In my small town when i was a kid not many people were fans, or at least not huge fans like he and I. It was an instant bond that spanned many years and many tours.

In July last year when it became known that Danny was losing his battle to cancer i found out that Geddy was coming to Detroit for a book signing. I immediately thought of Danny and bought a book for him for Geddy to sign. I knew it would make his day as Geddy has always been his favourite member of the band.

At the book signing Geddy asked who Danny was. I explained he is a long time friend and fellow fan who was battling Cancer and is unable to make this event so i took it upon myself to do this for him. Geddy looked at me and said "You are a good friend". I mailed the book to Danny (he was living in Florida at the time) and he called me as soon as he received the signed book. Danny passed a couple of weeks later.

Little did I know then what i know now... he was losing a friend to cancer as well...

 

After all these years since becoming a fan of this band, i've carried them - the lyrics the music with me in every aspect of my life. I feel like a part of me has died.

 

I am amazed at the outpouring of so many beautiful tributes have been written, performed and posted online.

 

So much love to my Rush family in our time of grieving and healing... :heart: :rose:

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Well.... this is a weird one and a first. I was at the gym and could not help noticing a guy on an elliptical with a Snakes and Arrows shirt on. I passed him and looked at his shirt, and didn't know what to do except put one hand over my heart and point at his shirt. He patted his heart twice and fist bumped me, we smiled then I wanted to cry. Just wow. Thought i'd share this embarrassing moment with you all.

 

That sounds like a beautiful moment to me.

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On the way to church this morning, we were listening to Sirius Channel 27. They are playing Rush today. Listened and drummed to Twilight Zone, and Live Xanadu:)

Then...the synth intro to 2112 revealed to me how POWERFUL the hurt still is!!

More tears!!

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Well.... this is a weird one and a first. I was at the gym and could not help noticing a guy on an elliptical with a Snakes and Arrows shirt on. I passed him and looked at his shirt, and didn't know what to do except put one hand over my heart and point at his shirt. He patted his heart twice and fist bumped me, we smiled then I wanted to cry. Just wow. Thought i'd share this embarrassing moment with you all.

 

That sounds like a beautiful moment to me.

 

Sounds pretty cool to me. I’ll be wearing Rush shirts at the gym all week now.

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Well.... this is a weird one and a first. I was at the gym and could not help noticing a guy on an elliptical with a Snakes and Arrows shirt on. I passed him and looked at his shirt, and didn't know what to do except put one hand over my heart and point at his shirt. He patted his heart twice and fist bumped me, we smiled then I wanted to cry. Just wow. Thought i'd share this embarrassing moment with you all.

 

That sounds like a beautiful moment to me.

 

That's so sweet, and a reminder that I should be wearing my Snakes and Arrows shirt.

 

I've been on this forum since 2004, since I was 14 years old. I kinda drifted away for a several years, but I had to come back to the old family to share how profoundly fundamental Rush was to my life.

 

Love you, Professor. Steer that airship right across the stars. Oh how I wish that I could live it all again.

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Well.... this is a weird one and a first. I was at the gym and could not help noticing a guy on an elliptical with a Snakes and Arrows shirt on. I passed him and looked at his shirt, and didn't know what to do except put one hand over my heart and point at his shirt. He patted his heart twice and fist bumped me, we smiled then I wanted to cry. Just wow. Thought i'd share this embarrassing excellent moment with you all.

 

 

Fixed!! :D

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Finally posted the AP's obituary in today's Sun-Sentinel. Simple and direct, no BS.

 

Legacy.com? I found it just now. I even posted on it. :haz:

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CBS News Sunday Morning just went to commercial after playing the end of Limelight with Neil's picture and my heart and stomach just fell to the floor. A piece of my soul is dead. No music for a while. :facepalm:
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Haven't been here for a while...

 

Shocked. Can't believe it...

 

But on the other hand, I'm happy for him that the news of his illness didn't make it out of the family and that he got to go out on his own terms.

 

 

Rest in peace, Professor. You certainly deserve it.

 

Will blast The Garden and The Pass now.

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Just watched Styx's tribute to Neil, playing Limelight, and I want to throw up. It just hit me how profound a tragedy this is. Very hard to swallow :(

 

As wonderful as that tribute was I understand. Gowan's voice is shot. I see STYX once a year and usually they do "Bohemian Rhapsody" like that. Just Gowan and that is always hard to swallow.

I admire the thought and homage and I honor it. But I get it.

 

It was very hard hearing Geddy sing on the R40 Tour. JMO But love him always.

 

Hearing this song, as it finally dawns on me that Neil is gone, just wrecks me :(

 

I know GR79.

 

We are all wrecked. We are all gutted. We are all sad, but we are all in this together. I don't care about my past and writing over the top stuff. It's in the past. It's about now. Tonight. "As the cells tick away...."

Regardless of opinion and controversy or drama on a public forum we are all a family. Regardless of this forum, millions of us are hurting on this planet right now.

We will all be broken and torn. Hurt and sad but we will all heal.

 

When I heard "Tears" tonight I could barely get though it.

 

Neil's passing will bring all of us closer together, not tear us apart.

 

"Closer To The Heart" buddy. Chin up!!

 

Excellent advice, there...I’ve always thought of CTTH as one of the most “positive” Rush songs- and not that a lot of their other songs are necessarily downers or anything, but usually just thoughtful, reflective, in the lyrics. But CTTH is definitely a positive, forward-looking, dare I say upbeat song.

 

Always been one of my favorites.

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I know he was a private guy and I understand his desire to keep his illness from the public.

 

On a purely selfish level I wish he had let us know. This might have been easier to deal with if he had. That's my problem though, not his.

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On a purely selfish level I wish he had let us know. This might have been easier to deal with if he had. That's my problem though, not his.

 

If an announcement had been made, be it in mid-2016, 2017 or whenever, everyone would have had years of additional misery.

 

Every single day, Rush fans would have had to tell themselves, Neil is dying.

 

That would have been emotional torture for Rush fans. No, thank you!

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I still can’t get my head around this. Not ashamed to admit to bouts with streaming tears this weekend.

 

Never knew the man, true, but did we have to? And really, didn’t we know him some?

 

For a guy who ironically had this reputation for being mysterious and aloof and crazy private, he let us know a lot about him in his books and writings and lyrics. In many ways I feel we had a bigger insight into Neil than any of them, as much as he shied away from adulation and attention.

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