The Klok Stops

It doesn't matter what you know, but what you do with that knowledge, and how you share it. This is a lesson I learned most from a fellow Firesign Theatre chatter Brian Converse, whose alias in the chatroom was Klokwkdg, a reference to the clock- work dog mentioned in the Firesign Theatre's Sherlock Holmes parody The Giant Rat of Sumatra. I never met Klok, who lived in Rhode Island (just like my favourite story teller Spaulding Gray) but my chat friends who did meet him are unanimous in his praises. It takes a certain amount of knowledge-hoarding capacity just to BE a fan of the Firesign Theatre, with their everflowing cornucopia of arcana. Part of the fun of chat is sharing and playing with this knowledge. But Klok didn't stop with Firesign lore. Every time I had a minor tech problem I would send Klok a brief email detailing my frustrations and receive massive e-missives of helpful advice. He was volcanic in his generosity. His death comes as a shock to everyone who knew him, but if we learned anything from Klok, it is not to mourn his absence but to increase our own learning and sharing that learning. Wherever there is curiosity, the clock never stops.