The Times-Union family lost a member this week in an untimely, tragic boating accident.
Since 1991, Craig Norrell was our technical supervisor. He was the one who kept our network and all the computers on it running.But over the years, Craig became much more to me than the IT guy. He was a friend.
We shared several common interests, not the least of which was radio-controlled helicopters.
Actually, he got me started flying the little things. He brought one of his into the office once. What a blast. I was hooked. Now, much to the chagrin of my wife, I have three. It's fun to dive bomb her while she's dusting.
We also liked a lot of the same music and a good, stiff rum drink.
And we liked the water.
He lived on Winona Lake and I live on Dewart Lake. I also have a boat on Lake Wawasee. We each grew up around water and had a lifetime of boating experience. We swapped boating stories all the time.
I know what people reading the news about Craig are thinking. What in the world was he doing out on the lake in weather like that?
Well, let me tell you a little bit about Craig Norrell.
Craig was the most intelligent person I've ever known. I make newspapers for a living, so I know a little bit about writing and grammar, computers, graphics and design. I play guitar and know a little about music.
Beyond that, I can remodel a bathroom, install a washer/dryer or dishwasher or change the brakes on a car. You know, practical stuff.
Craig was different. Sure, he could do all the practical stuff, but he just knew a lot about everything.
As an IT guy he knew plenty about computers and networks, to be sure. But his computer knowledge went well beyond that. He had a camera streaming weather photos online and a weather station tracking temperatures, precipitation and wind speeds.
He would use LEDs, cameras and spreadsheets to determine the RPMs of his helicopters so he could know how much lift they generated.
He would tell me about his latest project - like tracking the amperage draw on the solar-powered battery charging system he installed in his sailboat - and I would nod knowingly, feigning a certain level of understanding. All the while I'm thinking to myself, "How in the world does this guy know how to do all this stuff?"
Craig knew alot about everything - physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, ornithology, meteorology. If we ever had a question in the newsroom about how something worked or the equation to figure something out, Craig knew.
And he wanted to know more. Craig's life was a continuing quest for knowledge.
He was curious about everything - including extreme weather. He was fascinated by nature's fury.
He knew as much about barometric pressure, fronts and cloud formations as any meteorologist you see on TV. Frankly, I think he probably knew more.
So the fact that he donned his cold-weather gear and headed out on the lake Wednesday night doesn't surprise me at all. On Wednesday, in the office, he was telling me about a previous trip.
He was bemoaning the fact that pretty soon, ice would be forming and he would have to take the boat out of the water.
I would be willing to bet Craig's was the last boat still floating on Winona Lake. It was still in the water because he intended to use it, regardless of the weather, until the lake froze.
And he liked going out at night because of the solitude and the stars. Again, he was an accomplished amateur astronomer.
So it was no surprise to me that Craig ventured out on the lake Wednesday night.
But the result was shocking.
There was no one more suited or capable of taking a boat out on the lake that night. And there was no one more suited or capable of getting it safely back to shore in an emergency.
Something out on that lake went horribly wrong that night - a dire eventuality that all of Craig's knowledge and experience couldn't conquer. Was it wind and waves? Was it an equipment defect or malfunction?
We will never know.
Craig absolutely was not some crazy risk-taker and I am confident of this: If Craig couldn't survive what happened Wednesday night, no one could have.
My heart aches for Craig's family. I know how much he will be missed.
