Our Condolences to Culturist John Who Lost His Uncle In the Oregon Shooting

Larry Levine was an Author of well-received works of Fiction, 

as well as an avid Fly Fisherman

For those of you who are not regular readers, Culturist John is a fellow IBA contributor and has been for 8 years.

Culturist John's Uncle was Larry Levine, Professor of English at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.

Culturist John passed along this message today and gave me his permission to post it here at IBA:

My uncle was killed in this shooting. I am in Roseburg now. And, today we went to a victim's briefing. 

I can tell you that the majority of victim's family members are NOT for gun control. 

Several, in the private meeting, expressed anger that UCC is a gun free zone wherein not even security guards are armed. 

We haven't even started our memorials. It is a bad place and time to come push his agenda: Insensitive and unwelcome.

We also want to extend our condolences to the extended family.

I have known about this for a few days now. I am at a loss for words.

All I can think to say is, I'm sorry. That's it.

More about Larry Levine:

Levine, who lived in Glide, Ore., was an assistant professor of English at Umpqua Community College in the nearby town of Roseburg. 

The educator was also a dedicated fisherman and belonged to a fly-fishing and conservation group called the Steamboaters. The organization is dedicated to preserving “the traditions and art of fly fishing” on the North Umpqua River and keeping its waters clean and pure. 

Greenley, a fellow member of the group, said that Levine was a talented steelhead fly fisherman who has been involved with the North Umpqua River as a guide since the 1970s. “He wanted to be on the river. He stayed up there, wrote and guided. He was a nice, helpful guy,” Greenley said. 

“He was a recognized writer, and I’m an aspiring writer. We did a lot of talking about different stories we had done.” 

Levine occasionally wrote about his fishing adventures for the group’s website. In one post, he wrote about his “personal theory” about the power of awe to transform someone, temporarily or permanently. 

“I see the scene, simultaneously remembering its many manifestations over time, remembering the man viewing it twenty/thirty years ago, and, for too fleeting a moment, the old awe adds intensity to the present. Obviously, the river can also make a person a bit strange and esoteric, but its [sic] a fine madness,” he wrote. 

David Furman and Joey Weiss, two close friends of Levine’s from Beverly Hills, where they all grew up, talked to the Oregonian about how talented and caring he was. 

“He was the sweetest, most gentle, kind, thoughtful, and creative person,” Furman said to the local paper. 

“My heart is broken.” Weiss said that Levin’s greatest frustration in life was that none of the many novels he wrote were ever published. “Writing was his passion,” he told the Oregonian.