Today, I lost a good friend. Normally, I wouldn’t post something like this in a place like this, but this friend was Andy Royer, a guy who helped make a lot of what’s happening on this site possible. Andy fought a hard fight against cancer for about two years and he never lost his hope or his spirit, despite how rough things got. And they were rough. I admire him for it.
I bought bamboo from Andy, The Bamboo Broker, for years before I finally got to meet him while working on the Trout Grass project with him. We became fast friends, and spent the years since jabbing each other about sports, drinking beer together and hiking mountains and cities around the country.
Andy was one of the most uninhibited, fun people I have ever had the privilege to know. Though I didn’t get to hang with him often in person, I will continue to think of him for the rest of my life, and I will miss him.
Happy trails, My Friend.