Scott Downard was my brother-in-law, but more importantly, he was my friend. He died in his sleep on February 7th. He was only 46… my age.

Scott Downard - - 11/21/1962 - 2/7/2009

Scott and I had so much in common. We both loved music (and loved much of the same music.) We both loved movies and home theater. We both loved cars and computers and gadgets and the list goes on and on. So often I would find something cool- a great CD, an awesome website, or a cool piece of software, and I’d tell Scott about it. I don’t have that with anyone else, and I don’t know that I ever will again.

Recently, Scott got a phone like mine (but a newer, cooler model) and I was so looking forward to sharing with him all the cool stuff I had found for mine. For months, now, I’ve been obsessed with designing my own user interface, and I knew Scott would really dig that, too. But he never got the chance.

I’m struck by all the things Scott left undone… all the things I know he wanted to do or would have enjoyed. 46 is far, far too young to die.

Goodbye, Scott

Scott got me started in computers, and helped me fix it every time I really screwed things up. He was like my safety net, and as a result, I was free to really play and explore. He was incredibly patient (to a fault- literally, I think) and not the least bit competitive. So when the pupil surpassed the master, he was happy for me – and happy to learn whatever I could teach him. Bottom line, though, is that the living I’ve made for most of the last 20 years probably wouldn’t have been possible if not for Scott. Certainly my life would have taken a very different path.

Scott shared my passion for stereo equipment, and we built a subwoofer together. That thing would (literally) rattle not only the windows, but your innards. Scott was incredibly proud of that thing. I introduced Scott to high end audio, and took him to his first high end salon so he could hear Magneplanars. Just as I had been, Scott was instantly smitten, though I’m not sure he ever aspired to own a pair himself. (Scott was a lot of great things, but he wasn’t terribly ambitious. I really admired how content Scott was with what he had. It was an outlook I’ve never mastered.) When I got him a Class A amplifier kit as a gift, we had a great time building it together and marveled at the detailed sound it produced. It exceeded both our expectations.

I introduced Scott to Stevie Ray Vaughan, and he became as big a fan as I ever was. Scott became a blues man, collecting and listening to music from B.B. King, Albert King, Buddy Buy, Eric Clapton and more. Scott and I went to see Kenny Wayne Shepherd play (and we both left the show talking not so much about KWS, but about Stu Hamm, Joe Satriani’s bass player. Neither of us had any idea that an electric bass could make such sounds.) Krista and I also took Scott to see John Lee Hooker, Little John Chrisley and Corby Yates.

When Scott died, I took it upon myself to do the music for the service. Beyond that, I wanted to make the CD available to his friends. It was a labor of love, and no small task. Scott’s tastes were as diverse and eclectic as my own; condensing them down to a single CD proved impossible. Two CDs was quite difficult, but I managed.

When Krista and I got the call, we naturally packed in a hurry and headed to Pahrump to be there for Gene & Charlotte. We arrived the day he died and were there for all the funeral arrangements and so forth. When we met with the funeral director and he told us that their little chapel seated 80 people comfortably and as many as 100 if people were willing to squeeze together a bit. We all thought that this would be adequate, but we underestimated Scott’s impact on this community. When I got up to speak, all the pews were full, people were standing along the back wall of the chapel, and there was overflow into (and filling) the vestibule.

Someone once said that a man’s wealth is measured by the number and depth of his friendships. By that measure, Scott was a rich man, indeed. In talking to all these people, not one mentioned liking him. They all loved him.

Another striking thing about the service was that so many people had worn Hawaiian shirts. When I bought Scott his first XXXL Hawaiian shirt, little did I know that he would come to be known for wearing them just as much as I have. Yet another thing we shared, and for the same reason…

Some folk built like this,
some folk built like that
But the way I’m built,
now don’t ya call me fat
Because I’m built for comfort,
I ain’t built for speed
But I got everything
all the good girls need

Some folk rip and roar,
some folk b’lieve in signs
But if you want me,
you got to take your time
Because I’m built for comfort,
I ain’t built for speed
But I got everything
all the good girls need

I don’t have no diamonds,
I don’t have no gold
But I’ve got a lot of lovin’
to satisfy your soul
Because I’m built for comfort,
I ain’t built for speed
But I got everything
all the good girls need

from Howlin’ Wolf’s “Built For Comfort“