Has 'Ajarn' Died?

[Loaded]

I remember a few heated exchanges between myself and the member 'ajarn' but he was one of the characters of the board from a few years ago. His avatar was a photo of himself and I think he called himself Larry. Can anyone confirm?

CityLife just reported this:

http://www.chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?fbcomment=1&id=609&fb_comment_id=fbc_10151027965402974_22955457_10151070736802974#fc01b363a54e28

His website:

http://asiarecipe.com/Larry.html

Sad if true.

RIP Larry

[Ulysses G.]

That is sad indeed, but "Ajarn" Larry had several strokes and was in very poor health for a long time. I hope that he made the right choice and is in a better place.

Edited August 8, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[cloudhopper]

Based on the links I would deduce this person to have been TV member "LJW" not "ajarn"

RIP

[Ulysses G.]

LJW was Ajarn before getting a permanant vacation - he always posted pictures of the same swimming pool with the peace symbol on the bottom.

[jaideeguy]

I had the pleasure of meeting Ajarn [AKA Larry] 7 yrs ago when I was planning my own swimming pool and he invited me to view his. He did have multiple health issues then and was a solitary man. We kept in touch over the years and was always a kind and helpful person dispite his limitations and his advise on swomming pool construction proved to to be sound.

I do remember him praising his housekeeper/caregiver for her loyalty and I'm sure he took care of her with whatever funds were left in his estate.

Also, I always appreciated his regular posts on thaivisa [when it was a smaller more friendly forum] but saw them slow down over the last few years as his illness progressed.

You were a good man and I thank you Larry [Ajarn] for your sage advise over the years and hope that you had a painless and peaceful passing.....we will miss you!!

PS. You did have some friends out there......RIP

[WinnieTheKhwai]

!

I had some 'handbags' with him on the forum, but I remember him as a great guy in person. I also always had the feeling that some of his forum outbursts were medicine-related, so never really held it against him.

He was active on Thai forums and the soc.culture.thai Usenet newsgroup for as long as I can remember.

Rest in Peace, Ajarn.

Edited August 9, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai

[mania]

Oh my that was very sad reading his website & his planning of his exit.

RIP

[Ulysses G.]

Very interesting to read his reasons for self-deliverance. Not being able to talk so that others can understand or walk even short distances would be very difficult to deal with.RIP

[realthaideal]

Yeah, he sure was an old timer, huh ? I always appreciated his input... at times dour or crotchety, but I knew he wasn't always in the best way. His knowledge of the city and how to get things done here always shined through when he offered it. I'll kind of miss having him around. One of those nutty TV characters - he could bug you, but you couldn't help but enjoy knowing he was there. Alot like old Blinky Bill in that sense. Still getting used to him not being around.

May they both be resting in peace.

[jackr]

Very interesting to read his reasons for self-deliverance. Not being able to talk so that others can understand or walk even short distances would be very difficult to deal with.RIP

Yes, and yet you still get those spouting the 'suicide is the ultimate sin' claptrap as evidenced by comments on Citylife. People say this stuff out of habit, never considering a person's situation; that 'nothing' could be a whole lot better than torture. The gouging landlord: not untypical and typically un-Buddhist... wouldn't it be something if the lady fills in the pool and returns the yard to its former state before the contract is up!

He could be hard-going, but Ajarn helped me out with some solid info early on.

[harrry]

Very sad news. Ajarn was one of the first posters I communicated with when I was considering Chiangmai and provided a little information on living with a disability here. Some of his posts were forthright to say the least but basically he seemed a good man with problems. I can understand his choice but it is not one I could take myself.

Better luck net time round.

[mcgriffith]

RIP, Larry

[Gonzo the Face]

RIP Ajarn, your forum input will be missed.

I never , knowingly, met Ajarn, but can definitely feel for the stress he must have been under. Many years in CM, but not yet an old man. Its always sad to read or hear about a situation like this.

Feel two ways about the way he departed...... half of me feels an understanding for the weight he must have had on his shoulders re his lifes conditions..... the other half sez , while it may be ok for him, I don't know ,if under the same circumstances I could take that road out.... Hope I never have to make that choice.

RIP Ajarn and may you now have happy trails....

G

[onthedarkside]

I did not know him. RIP Ajarn.

[cdnvic]

I had some good conversations with him years ago in CM. I like to remember him that way.

Rest easy Larry. You lived a more interesting life than most ever dream of.

Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Thaivisa Connect App

[jaideeguy]

A wish Larry that the time bomb that you placed under your swimming pool will go off after your lease expires [555].

RIP my friend

[nocturn]

it beggars belief.

Edited August 9, 2012 by nocturn

[trainman34014]

RIP Larry; a sad ending but you lived a full and interesting life. You will not be forgotton.

[harrry]

I hope your Pii stays round and the Landlord cannot rent or sell the haunted house.

[george]

Rest In Peace, Larry.

[sbk]

rest in peace Larry, you were always unfailingly polite in personal interactions even if your health issues made you grumpy on the forum.

[Priceless]

Rest in Peace, Larry.

You provided a lot of help with good information when I first started considering moving to Chiang Mai. You were also the first to donate when we started collecting money for the Wat Pa Pao cat sanctuary. A fine man, you will be missed by more people than you ever thought.

/ Priceless

Edited August 9, 2012 by Priceless

[chaoyang]

I knew him relatively well starting in about 1994. Back then he had a green Yamaha 750-cc motorcycle that was heavy and powerful enough to get him around -- because he was a very large guy of 300 pounds or so. He was always out and about the town. Because he spoke such good Thai, he even worked as a manager at John's Place for a time.

He was very active on the old soc.culture.thai newsgroup, where he was also known as Ajarn. He took the name because he was an enthusiastic and committed teacher of English. For a time he worked at CMU, I know, then later moved to the far south of Thailand for a teaching gig.

I didn't see him again until about 2004, when I went to visit him at the house in Sansai that is mentioned on his website. It was clear he had a stroke or something and had difficulty walking (due to his size, it seemed mostly) and talking. He said, though, that he loved it in Thailand and had a good housekeeper who helped care for him.

It seems to me he went out in a considerate and dignified way. My hat's off to him for the very honest note on his website.

RIP Larry

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Disclaimer: I always hate it when what I'm about to say happens on topics like this, but bear with me.

It is a little peculiar. If you look at the Citylife article comments, there are some worrying comments by Larry's sister. I've seen those kinds of reactions before by friends and family far away, so wouldn't think too much of it. However it is a little peculiar that his 'website' (as linked in the Citylife article and in the OP) points to a page that is not linked from any other place on the site, and is (therefore) not found by Google either. So the only way the page can be found and accessed is if someone supplies a direct link. The rest of the site almost looks like a time capsule to the beginnings of the internet and it doesn't look like it's been updated. This makes the claim of 'a million hits per month' also a strange one.

It is also extremely badly written -keeping in mind he was a very capable English teacher and worked at CMU-, and claims he has no family and yet there is his sister in the CityLife comments. Then there is the part about getting married and moving in with the woman's family: "It really would get me involved in Thailand a lot more than now, which I have always dreamed about. My language skills would improve too." There is nothing wrong with his Thai language skills. If you carefully read that page it makes *completely* no sense. "Anyway the reason for killing myself in a couple of months is because when my money runs out, I do not have any way I can work or support myself, and there is noboby willing to take care of me" And that's very near to where he states he has a housekeeper and is getting married. AND where he states "I still need to make my arrangments for my cremation and distribution of my wealth." So which is it.. money imminently running out or distributing wealth.

Secondly the first part has "June 2008" as a header (which is strange as a header anyway) but the picture with it has EXIF data showing it was taken on August 30, 2011. (Ok, he could have added or updated it later, but it really looks like the whole page (both 2008 and 2012 parts) were written at the same time, not too long ago.)

On the other hand of course, there is *plenty* evidence to show that he was planning his exit strategy, so to speak, for example in this topic which I recognized immediately for what it was when he posted it a year ago: http://www.thaivisa....ii-sai-kraduck/

I know this will derail the topic and I apologize for that, but I feel I need to get it out in front of people and I picked this forum topic.

Edited August 9, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai

[Old Croc]

RIP Ajarn.

Always read and respected your point of view on Thaivisa.

[Loaded]

It is a little peculiar. If you look at the Citylife article comments, there are some worrying comments by Larry's sister. I've seen those kinds of reactions before by friends and family far away, so wouldn't think too much of it. However it is a little peculiar that his 'website' (as linked in the Citylife article and in the OP) points to a page that is not linked from any other place on the site, and is (therefore) not found by Google either. So the only way the page can be found and accessed is if someone supplies a direct link. The rest of the site almost looks like a time capsule to the beginnings of the internet and it doesn't look like it's been updated. This makes the claim of 'a million hits per month' also a strange one.

My link came from the CityLife article. However, I imagine they found that page because they Googled "Larry Wheeler Chiang Mai". If they were writing a story about the death, it would not be surprising if they Googled for background information.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

It is a little peculiar. If you look at the Citylife article comments, there are some worrying comments by Larry's sister. I've seen those kinds of reactions before by friends and family far away, so wouldn't think too much of it. However it is a little peculiar that his 'website' (as linked in the Citylife article and in the OP) points to a page that is not linked from any other place on the site, and is (therefore) not found by Google either. So the only way the page can be found and accessed is if someone supplies a direct link. The rest of the site almost looks like a time capsule to the beginnings of the internet and it doesn't look like it's been updated. This makes the claim of 'a million hits per month' also a strange one.

My link came from the CityLife article. However, I imagine they found that page because they Googled "Larry Wheeler Chiang Mai". If they were writing a story about the death, it would not be surprising if they Googled for background information.

Indeed. However that particular page does not come up in a Google search, because it isn't linked to from anywhere. Pim can likely confirm, but it looks like the page link was supplied to them after the original article was published. [ Of course the page is linked now (from Citylife and from here) so there's a good chance it will show up in search engines soon. But try it, currently there is no way to get to that page from a search. ]

As an aside, the Citylife article (prior to the correction later) created a wildly inaccurate impression of a person travelling to Thailand with 5 million baht to have a lot of fun with ladies and then go out with a bang. It's anyone's guess how that impression was created; could be the people supplying information to the police, the police themselves, or the Citylife reporter.

Note: I realize this kind of discussion is upsetting for any relatives visiting this topic. Judging from the Citylife comments however, his sister is already very upset and seems to be looking for more information herself.

Edited August 9, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai

[samsara]

here's the alexa info for the domain:

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/asiarecipe.com

[MrBrad]

In reading the webpage [ http://asiarecipe.com/Larry.html ] one can readily conclude that a professor of English would not have written a page with so many grammar errors. Sentence structure, punctuation, spelling and more are so inconsistent with good grammar and logical thinking.

A few sentences and phrases here and there read well, but most appears to be cobbled together. In my opinion the page has been tampered with.

[namoi]

R.I.P, just read the website, go with gods speed, I feel you did what you wanted, just hope i have the balls when the time comes to do the same thing as I know there are problems around the corner.............