Thoughts On Mac
Last night, after Nick called with the terrible news, I struggled to write something about the completely unexpected death of my friend Mac Tonnies.
Since then, I have thought about things a bit, and have gone through a range of emotions. At first, I was hoping that this was some sort of ridiculous joke. As this became increasingly difficult to believe, acceptance set in. In regard to my feelings, I tend to play things close to the vest, but talking with Nick and a close local friend of Mac’s over the last day or so, things became clearer in my heart and mind.
As I said in the comments to my first post, it is rare to find someone who is a friend and a personal hero. Mac was both, and that hasn’t happened to me very often. Paul Kimball introduced us in 2005, and soon after, Mac sent me a copy of his first major book, After The Martian Apocalypse. What I found after reading it and talking further with the author was a mind that was truly inquisitive, skeptical, ruled by a sense of equity, ready to see the humor inherent in the paranormal and keenly intelligent.
We had many talks on a range of topics, and Mac always intrigued me with concepts that I either hadn’t thought of, or of which I was only barely aware. He never failed to amaze and make me laugh. In the last few weeks, we discussed co-authoring a fictional work based on some of our conversations. The manuscript for his Cryptoterrestrials book was apparently finished with the final edit, and ready for submission. Nick and I will keep you updated on its progress.
Mac appeared on Radio Misterioso twice. Once in May of 2006 along with Paul Kimball, and again just a couple of months ago to discuss the details of his upcoming book, from which he read a few passages. Both are truly among my favorite shows.
Many did not know that Mac was a talented artist as well. As a sort of online tribute, here are a few images of Mac and his artwork.
A drawing he did when he was on the radio show with Paul:
A friend of his in Kansas City sent along these:
Elan, from Toronto, photoshopped a picture I had taken and made it complete:
May he be unbound from time and space and find the answers he sought.
This entry was posted
on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 5:40 pm and is filed under Wake Up Down There. You can follow responses via RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response or trackback from your site.
del.icio.us Digg Reddit BlinkList Google Ma.gnolia StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Help
- Related News Stories:
- Parafactor Mysteries »
- UFOs: Why No Open Contact? »
- Jacques Vallee On Mind Control »
- Stan Friedman on BoA »
- McKinnon - The Latest »
- A Chupa Lecture »
- UFO Hunters »
- Roswell Rumbles On… »
- The Terrible Twos »
- Cosmic Controversies »
|
Oct 23 2009 
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Nicely said Greg.
What I will remember about Mac is his generosity in indulging me whenever I had questions about one thing or another.
About this time last year I spent a couple of months working my way through his brilliant ‘Cydonian Imperative’ section on his site ( http://www.mactonnies.com/cydonia.html ) and I often had a question or two about some aspect of his research and analysis associated with Mars, and he always seemed more than happy to respond to my emails or tweets with clarification or information.
And Macs tweets and blog posts were always stimulating and refreshing reminder that the Net can be so much more, if only you take the time to find the good stuff. Every time I clicked one of Macs links I learnt something. For those that followed Macs musings online you know that it isn’t an exaggeration.
He was so intelligent and truly open-minded. Anyone paying attention to Macs recent C2C appearance would have picked up on that, and frankly I think George Noory was having trouble keeping up.
Greg my condolences to yourself, Nick, Paul and anyone else who knew Mac personally. And of course his family.
Cya, Mac.
October 24th, 2009 at 12:26 am
Well said, amigo!
October 24th, 2009 at 12:48 am
A couple of years ago, SMiles Lewis started his Anomaly Radio Network and your interview with Mac and Paul were among the first shows he rebroadcast. It was enlightening and refreshing to hear a rational but significantly different viewpoint on the subject of UFO and their effect on humanity. We can only hope like your computer crash after Robert Anton Wilson’s passing that Mac can send us a message from the next plane of existence.
October 24th, 2009 at 1:20 am
Thanks for the post, Greg.
Mac,
I trust this somehow serves a higher purpose of yours and Creation’s, and you’ve found something better, because it’s a poorer place here without you. Thanks for sharing so many of your amazing thoughts and ideas with us! My condolences to your family and friends.
God Speed, Mac.
October 24th, 2009 at 4:29 am
As I looked at the picture at the top of your post Greg, it crystallized a thought I’ve been having over the last few days.
As you all work through this, I hope you, Nick, Paul and others close to Mac take great solace in the knowledge that having you guys in his life made the last few years of it much more rich and full than it otherwise would have been.
We should all be so lucky.
My thoughts are with all of you.
~J
October 24th, 2009 at 4:39 am
I’m still in shock and saddened. I think of Greg, Nick, Paul and Mac as the 4 Amigos of the Paranormal. I am as saddened for you as I am for the Tonnies family.
My heart goes out to you all friends and family.
October 24th, 2009 at 5:55 am
Condolences to all who knew Mac. I am still experiencing waves of disbelief, sadness and tears. He was a good soul.
October 24th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I was driving around tonight trying to put Mac Tonnies’ passing into some kind of perspective. I didn’t know him and haven’t even read much of his work, but obviously he contributed a great deal to this discussion he was having with Greg, Nick, Paul, even William Gibson and the wider world, trying to frame UFOism in a more nuanced view of the world in which we actually live. Then the following lines came in off the car CD player from a grand anthem of forward momentum by Louis Jordan–still riding a rhythm 34 years after his metabolic cessation. Mac Tonnies’ passing may seem like an aborted launch of a great career right now, but unless I miss my guess, his work will have a lasting impact on the forward thinking views about this subject of many young writers for a long time to come.
Headin’ for the station with a pack on my back,
I’m tired of transportation in the back of a hack,
I love to hear the rhythm of the clickity clack,
And hear the lonesome whistle, see the smoke from the stack,
And pal around with democratic fellows named Mac;
So, take me right back to the track, Jack!
Choo choo, choo choo, ch’boogie!
Woo woo, ooh ooh, ch’boogie!
Choo choo, choo choo, ch’boogie!
Take me right back to the track, Jack!
October 24th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Condolences, Nick,Paul and Greg.
It’s always such a shock when friends die young. Just leaves you in a stupor, scratching your head, how life isn’t fair. Just the feeling of unfinished business. It will never make sense. But it brings to light more clearly Mac’s brilliance, and how it will be up to us all to carry the torch and value his work.
I only knew him through you guys, and of course the interviews I heard with him.
What sudden passings like this should bring into focus is the importance of making the most of each moment on earth. Sounds trite sometimes, but its the final truth. I’m sure Mac would agree.
October 24th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
And it’s life and it’s dying
it’s beginnings and ends
it’s “what did you do
with the life they gave you”?
It’s “were you that honest
and did you make amends
To all the ones under your guns
How have you treated your friends”?
Lyrics by David Crosby from “At The Edge”
October 25th, 2009 at 3:12 am
It’s been a blue weekend all right.
Greg, a friend of mine has pointed out that Mac’s Wikipedia entry is terribly sketchy. I think you, that had the fortune of knowing him personally, should do something about it.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I was in a little hippy coffee shot in Moab Utah when I heard the awful news about Mac. I sat in the corner and sobbed. We talked on the phone every once in a while, and those sessions were usually about 3 hours long.
Part of those conversations were him being supportive to me. I’ve been dealing with a lot of stuff, and Mac was the perfect voice to help me piece to together my fragile mind. He was kind and sweet - and very funny.
I am not exaggerating when I say that Mac Tonnies helped keep me sane. And now, I worry I’ll be lost without him.
We talked UFOs, movies, books and about R. Crumb.
The fact that he was so supportive to me truly helped me come forward with some writings and some memories. He was extremely insightful, and his belief in me kept me going. I am not exaggerating.
He was a big fan of may cartoon work. And he would leave comment on my drawings on a blog site I keep. He even posted a link on his blog to my site. It surprised me when I saw it.
It was such a beautiful human gesture that he would be SO attentive to me and my creative work as well as my other blog of written work. It meant a LOT to me.
When I heard the news of his death, I was just about to get on the road and drive from southern Utah to my home in Idaho. I have a lot of his interviews stacked up in my iPod, and I drove all night listening to his extremely lucid voice. He can say so much in such a perfectly succinct way, it simply slays me. It was an emotional and haunting night.
He had a way of articulating EXACTLY what I felt in my bones. He said it better and clearer than I ever could.
Mac had a way of stating things in such a smooth and clear way, with that lovely voice of his, that left me floored. His calm and reasoned insights will be forever missed in this snake pit of competing egos.
Mac, we never met, but I consider you a very dear and wonderful friend. I hope - because of you - I can proceed forward with a little more integrity and few more insights.
peace to you my friend,
Mike C