It is with regret and deep sadness that I must announce the passing of our dear friend, Plawrence . He is now pain-free and in peace. Before he passed he expressed, yet again, how much this BB and its members have meant to him.

I was so happy to see him post from home, for the final time on Sep 28th :
He last logged on 2 days ago, so I'm sure he read and appreciated more of your best wishes.

As a GBB member for over 4 years (since August 13, 2002), Member #1345 has been a great friend to many of us in person, as well as here on the BB. It's really hard to believe that we only met in person about 3 years ago -- it seems like I've known Plaw for decades! Always riding the "slippery slope," Paul Lawrence (a.k.a. Neal Pulcawer) told it like it was. Not only was he a great knowledge bank for The Godfather and the Mafia, he was also an aficionado of Sports, Fantasy Sports, Poker, Sports Betting, Movies, Conspiracy Theories, and Fine Food and Wine.

My fond memories of Plaw will last a lifetime. His treating me to a Nets game each year got me interested in basketball for the first time. His happenstance meeting, and subsequent unintentional insulting, of Frank Vincent at the Garden is classic. His own Civil Rights movement on the BB really stirred the shit up. And so did his opinions on how others ran fantasy leagues. He was a generous man who really loved his garlic bread and fried zucchini. Yet I still contend that he couldn't give out directions for shit! lol

A special note here about Plaw and Fantasy Sports, since it was his passion: He could be a shrewd bastid sometimes! lol While he was always truthful and honest -- he never cheated, he'd win fair and square -- he did swindle me out of LeBron James last year for a bunch of scrubs! But his reasoning was always sound, and his "crafty finagling" and "fuzzy math" made him a respected player.

The "StatMan" was taken from us way too early, at the age of only 57. As you know, his health was up-and-down the past 18 months or so, and he claimed the GangsterBB to be of invaluable help to him as an entertaining way to pass the time. I'm sure he's looking down at us right now, reading this thread -- and checking it for grammatical errors. lol And I'm sure he can't wait to look over our shoulders as we're reading The Godfather's Revenge to see how the saga continues, and how much Winegardner f--ked it up. lol In fact, just the other day I pulled some strings to get him a copy a month early. I didn't have the chance to surprise him with it.

We love you, Plaw, my most valued friend! And it's an understatement to say that you will be sorely missed -- the BB will not be the same without you!

Please post your happy remembrances of our dear friend...


JG

PS - I really wish I had posted this before Big Daddy's wonderful post in the other thread. But I'm glad he was able to post it.

I am never very good at this but I remember meeting plaw the first time at the Doubletree in Somerset, NJ. It was there that I found out that a chicken breast is actually 2 wings sowed together

He sent me numerous emails before that day asking me to come out to dinner, or to a Nets game and I could never find the time and I deeply regret that now.

He was a true friend in every sense of the word, no matter what he was doing he would drop everything and stay up all hours of the night if you needed to talk.

And who can forget playing "Hi/lo poker" from 2am til 5am, while chatting with plaw and JG on instant messanger, for fake money of course, but you wouldn't know it with how he played.

He was a great friend and he will be missed.
R.I.P. Plawrence

Edit: I don't know if I have mentioned this before but I thought it would be nice to rename the sports forum after plawrence.

Words cannot describe how saddened I felt when I received this news. But instead of mourning the loss of a good friend, I choose to celebrate Paul's memory by remembering the good times that we had when we were together, and the fun that we had interacting with each other on these boards.

Although this place will never be the same without our statman, his presence on these boards was one of the main ingredients that made this a special and fun place to come to.

Paul was a fighter in all walks of life. Be it in our political debates, in the sports world, the fantasy threads, or in general, and the fight that he had in him is what kept him going, even through his long battle with his illness.

I am honored to have been able to make freinds with such a good man through these boards, I will always be grateful to him for teaching me how to be a "real" fantasy games commissioner. I will sincerely miss our political disscussions and our debates because I know that there will never be another on these boards, like Paul, who will challenge my veiws and opinions with such passion and fight, but yet with the utmost respect towards me. I'll miss the telephone conversations that we had, talking about the Mets, sports betting, Atlantic city, and life in general.

Paul, if you are reading this post from your heavenly computer in the sky, I want you to know that from this moment on, whenever I sign onto the gangsterbb site, I will always be looking for a post from you. And someday, when we are together again, and I am no longer on the "slippery slopes" here on earth, but instead standing on solid ground, next to you in heaven, we will pick up right where we left off and continue the great friendship that we were able to build over the last several years. And make sure that you save some of your favorite garlic bread for me when we meet again!

I'm sincerely going to miss you my friend, and I thank you for your unconditional friendship.


Don Cardi

I'm truly speechless. One of the finest members I've encountered on these boards in my short time here. He'll live on, there's no doubt about it.

"I see my light come shining,
from the west unto the east,
any day now, any day now,
I shall be released..."

I don’t know where to start and where to end. I am crushed. I feel like I’ve lost my best friend. Plaw and I would chat online almost everday. (Good thing I can multitask). I would look forward to seeing “Good morning Bethie” pop up on my screen. What I wouldn’t give to see those 3 little words again. Or to have him bitch me out one more time for trading Jose Contreras to Don Sicilia. Now I don’t even want to log onto my computer.

I can only hope he just drifted off, and awoke somewhere in his own personal Field of Dreams. Everywhere he looked were the greats in sports that he grew up to and admired. He’d see Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, all his favorite Brooklyn Dodgers. He’ll walk past all of them and stroll up to another man and simply say: "Dad….wanna have a catch?"

People often wonder why I’m called Crabby. The first time I met plaw he called me Baltimore Crabcake. So now I will answer to this nickname with honor. I'm not a big basketball buff, but I will watch The Wizards, and everyone not living under a rock knows plaw is fanatic for The Nets. Last season plaw would follow each and every game and know the lineups and who would play whom in the playoffs. He kept telling me this scenario could happen, and this team has to beat this team, and The Nets might play The Wiz in the 1st round of the playoffs. He's telling this to me...someone who doesn't know my Zhi Zhi from my wang. As luck would have it they didn't play each other, but it would have been nice if it happened. I'll still follow The Wiz, but next season I'm adopting The Nets.

While there are people here who I cherish their friendships the place will not be the same for me here. There is a big void in my life. And an even bigger hole in my heart. I recall one conversation he had, which showed he still had his sense of humor. I asked how his mixture of meds was affecting him. He said he’s ok. But he just broke into his buddy’s house and stole his tv. I just joked back I hope it was a plasma. And if he ever gets that urge again to let me know, I could use another tv myself.

Whenever I watch a Frank Vincent movie I’ll think of him and smile. I hate it when people quote songs to remember someone, but I can’t get certain ones out of my head. While I hate the song, the phrase, “Don’t forget to remember me” from Carrie Underwood fits perfectly for me. I’ll always remember him, and will forever miss him. Another one just says it all for me. “I miss my friend”.

I miss my friend.

The one my heart and soul confided in
The one I felt the safest with
The one who knew just what to say
To make me laugh again
And let the light back in
I miss my friend.

I miss the colors that you brought into my life
Your golden smile, those blue-green eyes
And I miss your gentle voice in lonely times like now
Saying it'll be alright
I miss my friend.

Goodbye Plaw. I love ya. MWAH!!! {{{{{}}}}} My heart is in broken in a million pieces right now.

You took the words right out of my mouth DMC. I have been having thoughts the last few months of renaming it, or somehow memorilizing it to him. Is that possible Geoff?

Yeah, I'll be doing something like that in the next day or two... it's been in high demand!

I know I swore retirement, but I wouldnt feel right if I didnt pay my respects.

I didnt hang out in the Sports forum, and steered clear of political discussions, but always throughly enjoyed reading his posts. His rewrite of GFR was a great read, and he was very supportive of my GF4 scenes I posted.
I hadnt been around in a while, so I never knew about his illness. I only remember him not being able to go to the Dylan concert

Rest In Peace, My Friend

So sorry (although not surprised) to hear the news. I worried privately that his 'rally' was temporary.

While I had little in common with Plawrence on the BB...we shared interests in 'fun' things like Titanic, The Godfather and...garlic bread. Am so glad that I got to meet him that one time, at a Gangster BB dinner in Jersey City, NJ.

Farewell, plaw...I'll think of you whenever I dine on fried zucchini!

AppleOnYa

Words can't really express how I feel right now. I can't explain why I feel so affected and touched by someone I met only one time. I've come to the conclusion, like PLAW indicated in the quote Geoff posted above, you can make true dear friends on the internet just by having them around and talking to them everyday.

My favorite PLaw story is the Frank Vincent story. For some reason it doesn't seem like PLaw would make that kind of a slip ("I'll bet I'm the only one who recognizes you"). I guess that's what makes it so hilarious.

Paul, you will be forever missed by your friends on the BB. I am so saddened and will miss you, but am happy that now you are in peace and in no pain.

I'm sure you don't need my input since I never go to the sports thread, but I think naming it say..."PLaw's Fantasy Sports" might be good. It would be great to honor him in that way. He probably would be smiling down from the big Casino in heaven.

TIS

This is how I remember PLaw. God, this is sad.


[img]http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b3d702b3127cce9b33d816209a00000006108BatmbRyya8[/img]

Remembering Plaw?? How do you possibly memorialize someone you only met face-to-face a handful of times, yet who means so very, very much to you.

First off, BDD, Thank you for your last post. Plaw would've LOVED it. Flopsy and Mopsy were his favorites. And who could forget his encounter with Frank Vincent?? He's lucky the man didn't take out a restraining order.

Second, I want to thank Geoff for providing us this website. Through this wonderful place, I got to meet my prince, my Paulie. We got to talk about books, about movies, he used to listen to me rant about my mother-in-law, about the kids, and we talked about how he wanted to go to Italy one day. Every day at 4:00, I would sit down at the kitchen table to do homework with the kids. I would sign onto Yahoo, and chat with Paul. He always wanted to know what the math homework was for the night, and would solve algebra problems with us. He especially loved the "stupid" assignments, like "Name five countries that start with the letter Z". He would always come up with the answers, too. It was heartbreaking this September, when 4:00 came around, and there was no Paul online.

Happy memories? Well, there was the Saturday last year when Mr. Babe and I were meeting the gang at the Doubletree. Paul was supposed to meet me and my husband at the bar at 4:00. 4, 4:15, no Paul. I was beginning to get a little paranoid when Geoff walked in and told me that Paul called him to say that he went to the wrong hotel. That was SO Plaw, the most intelligent, yet forgetful man I ever knew!

When I went to visit him in the hospital two weeks ago, he was so very thin and weak. He was barely able to speak, but I held his hand and told him how glad I was to be with him. His elderly aunt was visiting him and she asked me how I knew Paul. I told her that we had met on the internet. From her reaction, I thought the woman was going to end up in the bed next to him. Paul whispered, "Godfather," and I explained to her how we all found this site, and then a few of us who lived reasonably close to one another would get together for dinner now and then. She seemed vastly relieved and confided that this was the first internet meeting she had ever heard of that didn't involve a sexual predator! When Paul had regained a bit of strength and we were talking on the phone last week, I told him that I believe his aunt considered me his Internet Ho!! He got a huge kick out of that!

Plaw, my sweet and dear prince of a friend, I will miss you more than words can say. I am so glad to have had the privilege and honor of being your friend. My life is so very much richer for having known you. As I told you that day, I will always find you.

Well since Plaw is in a better place, I just want to send my regards to all of you who are grieving right now.

I'm very glad I got to send him a message before he died.

I hope this reminds us all to treat each other in this life with respect and gratitude. It is so very short.

Oh my God, I didn't expect this at all. I can't believe it.

RIP for Plaw. One of our better memebers, full of wit. I also feel sorry for his father. It must be horrible for a parent to bury their son.

RIP

His father died a few months ago. Paul leaves behind a 17 year old son.

I'm shocked and saddened to hear of Plaws death. The BB feels incomplete without him and a bit bare. I can't say I knew him well but he was a fair and good man. He is in my prayers.

His father died a few months ago. Paul leaves behind a 17 year old son. [/b][/quote]Oh. Well, I also feel sorry for his son then. I can't imagine losing my father now.

The "Remembering Plawrence" link at the top of the page is very nice and touching Geoff.

I really don't know what to say. R.I.P. Plaw.

Shit blows. Kinda crazy...

It's kind of weird when death reaps the people you've been in contact with -- even if only through the internet.

I hope he finds a home somewhere in the afterlife (if there is such a thing), and wish those closest to him the strength - not that I ever think they will see this post.

This is truely a sad sad day. I consider myself to be VERY fortunate indeed to have met Neal here on the BB and last year at the BB convention. I will never forget it. Me and Becky just got out of the outside pool we were dripping wet walking to the door and this man comes up to me and said "Are you Mignon?" And I said yes I am. He introduced himself. I was so embarrassed meeting him for the first time in my bathing suit. I got to sit next to him at dinner that night and we had some nice conversations. I was really sorry that he was to sick to come to the convention this year.

I got to talk to him on the phone awhile back he asked who he was talking to I told him it was his favorite redneck he said hi Miggie. He told me on the phone that he had alot of respect for me driving long distances to go to the conventions.

Plaw, You're favorite redneck will never forget you. You will be in my heart forever. The BB will never be the same with out you.

To Plaw's girlfriend and Son,

You have mine and Becky's heartfelt sympathies. Please know that he is in peace and is no longer in pain.

Holy crap. I didn't expect this.

RIP

Yes Don Geoffy, that was so wonderful of you

My prayers are with you and your family. R.I.P. Plaw

I am deeply saddened to learn of Paul's passing. I can't really say anything that has not already been expressed, but rest in peace. I will keep your family, especially your son, in my prayers.

We all share the sense of loss of plawrence and obviously some more than others. Paul joined the Gangster BB a few months after I did. It was soon apparent that we were close in age and we shared some musical and socio/political views. With respect to music, we used to trade poetic alliterations derived from Crosby, Stills and Nashs song "Helplessly Hoping". So in tribute to Plaw, I'm going to end my evening by playing and singing the song. This one's for you Paul. Thanks for being in my life. Here's a little something back at ya.

A sad day indeed, God Bless You & Your Family!

Geoff, is there any way to "retire" the Paulie Walnuts avatar? Like they retire jerseys in sports? I don't think I could bear to see anyone else with it.

I did that quite a while ago... and anyone who works around it will be banned for life.

I never met Plawrence face to face but I met him on the net

To me Plawrence was a Library of gangster related things and the godfather movies...
I always enjoyed reading his posts...

I know you're now in a better place...

Goodbye Plaw
RIP Plawrence

I'm at a loss for words right now. I'm truly and deeply saddened by this.

I PMed Plaw after I found out he was sick...and he wrote me back during his brief stint back on the BB after being hospitalized. He was genuinely moved by all the kind words and the outpouring of love from his friends here on the BB.

I looked up to Paul. It feels so wrong speaking of him in the past-tense.

I'll never forget you, my friend. I will continue praying for you and your family. God bless you.

RIP Paul Lawrence...I'm gonna miss you, pal.