About Norm

I have decided not to write anything about Norm immediately, letting my thoughts to coalesce first and, of course, peeking into what other bloggers have to say about passing of this remarkable man. Characteristically, many of the bloggers who, like I, never met Norm in person and conversed with him only via their posts and, less frequently, via emails, tell about the impact Norm had on their writing, their way of thinking, their politics. Many have thanked him for the attention he granted them, his always busy daily schedule notwithstanding (and so do I). Of course, blogging being (for many of us) the shelter of an ultimate egotist, most of us are not writing about Norm only, but about his influence on our lives. Which is, at the end of the day, how it should be, and I hope he will recognize in this our sincere gratefulness.

So how do I see Norm? First of all, as an exceedingly kind person. His kindness (and I am more than sure that it was true for everything he has done in his life) was automatically offered to people whom he never seen, always ready to lend a hand or say a supportive word. When dealing with his opponents, he has never crossed the line between razor sharp criticism of what a person stands for and the (always available and attractive) domain of juicy ad hominems, even when richly deserved by that person. The art of self-restraint that I, as many other run of the mill bloggers, never mastered.

And his writing: where do I start? His ability to say what he intended to with as few words as possible, in fact to say in one sentence more than many of us (yes, mea culpa too) use ten or twenty... that amazing brevity was nothing short of magical. Each time I happen to open a book written by one of the proponents of so called "hysterical realism", I think about Norm and smile inwardly. Frequently, looking at my own stunted and overly verbose posts, I ask myself "What would Norm think about it?", but then I excuse myself (second language, natural awkwardness etc.), knowing that I can never dream of really applying such an exacting standard to myself.

During all these years of surfing and blogging, I have encountered many a person of the left wing persuasion, frequently clashing with them on finer points of their beliefs. The acidity of these exchanges and the fights certainly leave their imprint. I know that I could never share (again, in my personal history) their version of Marxism and their religious and uncritical beliefs in the dogma. To my continuing surprise, it was absolutely different with Norm. The greatness of his mind, his ability to separate the wheat from the chaff and his humanity more than compensated for me this specific insolvable rift in our politics.

There are at least two things that I will always be sorry about. The first is that my acquaintance with Normblog started a few years later than Norm started it. But this is repairable, as long as this treasure is accessible.

The second sorrow has to deal with that e-mail from Norm about his planned visit to our neck of the woods, the incompatibility of possible meeting dates, the missed opportunity - this one is beyond anyone's ability to put right.

RIP Norman Geras. Thank you for being. See you later.