Hi Bill,
Thanks! Funny thing, that must be a family trait, as it would describe both my daughter and myself (chronic night owls), and also, learned not too long ago, one of my aunts, and cousins.
I am very sorry he is not with us anymore, and to chat late with you, but it is also very heartwarming finding what he meant to his friends here. Thanks for sharing.
Best Regards,
David
Your father was definitely topshelf. I always enjoyed being in his presence.
Thank you Pat,
He was indeed topshelf.
Kind Regards,
David
David, thanks for coming to the forum and sharing more on your dad. He came over to my place (in near Columbia, MD) a few times, sometimes with Rooster, and I went up to his place a few times. It was always good to see him.
Your dad was always humble, generous, helpful and friendly. Always had some sage advice applicable to whatever I was up to. Like a lot of guys here, Iāll really miss him.
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to share more directly about him.
Cliff
Hi Cliff,
Thanks to all of you for being so welcoming. I will also miss his advise, he was always my first call when I needed guidance.
Ironically, I may have to come here to get his advice second hand in terms of his trains, which I am considering keeping at least some of, and joining the hobby (something I never did for space / time / money). I do however share his interest, having grown up with him, although my outlet was mostly aviation, and my main hobby flight simulation. I do also enjoy train simulation, and even ship simulation.
By trade, I am a 3d modeler (mostly aviation related) , programmer, and general media producer. Also, I am a guitarist and composer (which is probably my primary talent and lifelong hobby).
I have been enjoying my first day and now second here at the forums, looking at some of the projects, jokes, etc. It is great to meet all of you.
Best Regards,
David Marconi
Dave,
I cannot overstate the extreme generosity your father showed our family. We live at the last stop on the global supply chain, so moving from running trains in a circle to modeling a railroad was always a challenge. Your dad had a knack for identifying what bit, what car, what locomotive, what tool would inspire the next step in our journey through the hobby. His intuition and knowledge spared us many potentially costly errors as we stumbled through the beginnings of our railroad. Few weekends pass that donāt see some part of his generosity grace the rails of the Triple O. Few days pass where somewhere someone in our house hasnāt applied his knowledge in projects ranging from crafting to school dioramas to rocketry to railroading to generic problem solving.
Your Dadās aloha remains far reaching. His legacy is lasting. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing him with us.
Sincerely,
Eric
Rest In Peace Dave. Prayers to family.
Hello, David.
Your Father visited us up here in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, once, and I always looked forward to sharing a bit of time with him at the York LS train shows.
Yes, your Father is truly missed by all of us.
Fred Mills
Were or how did he get the Hollywood nick name ?
He is greatly missed .
Thank you Eric for the very thoughtful message.
He certainly had that knack, I canāt begin to explain how much he helped me with through the years.
Do you have a link perhaps, photos or video of the Triple O? I would love to see.
Best Regards,
David
Thank you Travis.
Best Regards,
David Jr
Hi Fred,
Oh, yes, I remember him going on that trip, and I know he had a great time there. It is very nice to meet you.
Kind Regards,
David Jr
Hi Sean,
You know, I have been wondering the same thing since I first came here to LSC.
My daughter and I both saw it and had a good laugh wondering how he got that name.
I would love to hear the story from someone who knows the answer.
Thanks,
David Jr
You might want to reach out to one of his āFD brothers,ā nicknames are synonomous with the fire service.
Hi Pat,
Oh, yes, you could well be right, and he brought the name here with him.
Funny thing, as a kid, I would sometimes spend time at the firehouse with him, and I remember they generally called him āMarconiā, or occasionally āMacaroniā may slip (used to get that one a bit myself). I donāt remember them ever using the nickname Hollywood, but of course, I was not around much more than I was around.
Thanks,
Dave
Of course I askedā¦ him
I always thought it was indicative of his super bright smile, and to differentiate from the many other Davids here, but thatās just guesswork. Iād like to know as well!
[edit] Thanks Bill, the Berg comment explains all. And I always wondered what the āCHā stood forā¦
Haha, thanks Billā¦ so that explains a couple things.
When I was a kid, his layout was the WM&MW (I donāt think he has used that recently, that was his indoor HO days), so I was wondering what the FOGCH is.
Regards,
Dave
Hi David. Thanks for checking in here.
I wanted to share with you one of your dadās last acts of kindness and generosity. He learned of my plans to convert a garage style shed into a workshop/man-cave/layout room from posts on this site. He messaged me privately offering to drive up and stay for a weekend to help. Iām sure the project would not have been as successful as it had been without his help and sage advice. He wouldnāt accept any payment, or help with his expenses other than several lunches and a ride on the EBT.
Your dad was instrumental. In one late October weekend, together we framed and closed in the front. How it looked before we startedā¦
After demo of the front wallā¦
Framing and closing inā¦
As was his normal modus operandi, he wouldnāt allow any pictures of him working and asked me to not divulge who my helper was. He truly kick started this project for me motivating me to get the interior work done over the last few months.
He was a great friend and will be missed.
Hi Jon,
Wow, thank you for sharing. I have almost the same little garage here (which in fact my Dad came and helped me to rewire when I bought this place.)
The result looks greatā¦ the side without the window seems to be begging for some kind of RR sign.
You mention he would not allow photos of him working. I found a gem recently at the rail museum he volunteered for, working on a coach. Someone must have caught him unexpected to get this photo (and I am glad they did)
Regards,
Dave
