About Me

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Denver, Colorado, United States
I'm a Vietnam Vet, Retired Mainframe Programmer, Retired College Adjunct Teacher, Published Author, Adult Boy Scout Leader, Republican, Jewish, married with two magnificent grown kids.

Charlie Oriez

The most difficult part of aging is watching those you love passing on. A man that I love is in a hospice, spending his last hours on this earth. How do I describe Charlie? He was one of the few actual renaissance men that I have ever known. He was equally at home discussing politics, history or Mathematics.

Charlie's sense of humor was incredible. He saw humor in every aspect of life. He enjoyed sharing that humor with his multitude of friends. I worked with Charlie, Played with with Charlie, argued politics with Charlie and drank with Charlie; and Charlie did drink prodigiously.

Charlie was a Liberal - But he was a liberal in the manner of Hubert Humphrey. He honestly believed that the classic liberal-democrat approach to solving societies problems was preferable. Politics was not a means of power to him. Rather politics was a means of insuring justice to all. He fought for the environment, the rights of the individual and Personal Privacy. He fought for Justice. As a Jew, I am taught that Justice is the heart and soul of G-d's desire for mankind. AS I said to Gloria, his beloved wife, Charlie never stopped tilting at windmills, he may have been attacking them from the left side, but he had the moral courage to tilt at them.

I believe that the fate of our nation is insured when there are two strong opposing voices being heard. Charlie was a voice that made a difference.

Charlie is dying of Cancer. While he was never a smoker, he spent a fair amopunt of time in the presence of smokers. He was a membver of the Sierra Club. I believe that he met Gloria through that organization. He ran for congress some years ago. He was active in the Anti-spam crusade. We was an ardent enthusiast for Linux. Charlie never just sat on the sidelines and watched. If he believed in something, he fought for it. Let's all pick up a bit of that attitude towards life.

As Charlie lingers, Gloria is by his side. If you can please say a prayer for Gloria, so that she may have the strengh to see this tragedy through.

I will say Kaddish (The traditional Jewish prayer for the dead) when Charlie passes. Please honor this American in any way you can.


His website "oriez.org" contains a diary of his fight. It is worth reading and contemplating.

Charlie, my friend. I love you and I will miss you. Go with the Blessed One, Holy be his Name.