[Oe List ...] Don Elliott

[jlepps at pc.jaring.my]

It's very difficult to think of Don Elliott in the past tense. He was 
so intensely present wherever he showed up that past-ness feels like 
a contradiction of terms, a real oxymoron.

Whether he was in a board meeting or a choir rehearsal; at an auto 
workshop or his personal woodwork shop; in a private conversation or 
a village clinic, Don was totally and energetically present, raising 
questions, making suggestions, and actively probing for insight. He 
brought an intensity to the situation, however innocuous it might 
otherwise have been, that affected everyone involved.

Don always went for the heart, and not just as a surgeon. He cut to 
the quick on whatever issue he faced, whether it be a blocked artery 
or a leaky toilet. He was Mr. Fixit, determined to understand, to 
diagnose, and to treat the underlying malfunction, not the surface 
symptoms (sometimes to the chagrin of the "patient"). He was visibly 
bored with details he considered superficial, and inevitably moved on 
towards the significant.

Whether addressing four or five subjects in a single sentence or 
taking a 500-mile bicycle rider through the Rockies, Don was always 
deeply attuned to the complex and multi-level present.

That's why "was" is a difficult tense to use about Don Elliott.

Grace & Peace
John Epps
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