Marty Gear, R.I.P.

On July 18, Marty Gear died in his sleep.  He was a friend, not a close friend, not the kind of friend I spent a lot of time with, but a guy I'd known and considered a casual friend for over thirty years.  He was a big-name fan, a costumer, the emcee of countless masquerades at SF conventions and CostumeCons, and a man of broad passions.  You can see a few pictures of him here. 

A lot of people have better stories about Marty than I do and knew him better than I did, but still I miss him.  We are all poorer for his passing.