Donnie B joined Thunder Row in March of 2011. From his first day here, he was all about the bass. He used to send me private messages all the time, just to tell me how glad he was to be a part of the family.
He made friends with everybody, due to his unwavering enthusiasm and honest, sincere personality. He quickly learned that our forum here was a place of support. It didn't matter if you progressed through the lessons quickly, or moved more slowly; in his case, a lot of the hurdles in advancing were due to his ongoing health problems.
But those problems never stopped Donnie from enjoying the camaraderie around here. He knew he was welcome, and that nobody was going to judge him or heap criticism on him. Everybody encouraged him to have fun with the lessons and focus on the enjoyment more than the progress.
We all know how the story has turned out, and each of us will remember him in our own way; we will hold him in our hearts as a man who embraced the true spirit of playing the bass, and enjoying music in general. The true spirit of the bass is in the love for its wonderful voice and the pairing of the musician with that voice. Donnie felt that connection and as such was a true musician in his soul.
I don't know how many of you knew he had a Facebook page. His family has taken it down now, but Brenda was kind enough to save two of my favourite pictures from that page. They weren't bass-related, but spoke of his other big interests!
Enjoy them, and celebrate the life of our friend.
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