rett.org

by Daniel Hoerr

I can’t really pinpoint the first time I met Rett. He spun in so many social circles and was loved by so many diverse groups of people here at MICA that it is almost irrelevant. One particularly strong memory is gaining consciousness (after passing out of dehydration) to Rett sitting above my head. When I opened my eyes, he gave me a goofy smile and turned to the other folks that were watching me, and said, “He’s awake.” When I was asked to go through and try to remember everyone’s name, Rett’s was the only one that I got right saying, “Your name is Rett, and you have a lot of music.”

After that point Rett seemed to be a constant staple in my life. There were times that he and I would sit with either his or my computer and just fiddle for a while and he would end up teaching me a dozen and a half things to do that would make my life easier. I blame him for my interest in the more technical side of computers and the Internet. He loved to kick my ass at any multi-player game I could throw at him. Unreal, Quake, or Halo — it didn’t matter, Rett left my toon in pieces every single game.

I remember learning that Rett had cancer long after I had met him. It seemed strange to me that someone with cancer would live with such vitality, but after thinking about it for another second, it also made a certain kind of sense. His enthusiasm and vitality was unparalleled. I’ve never met anyone who followed so many interests through at once, and he never seemed to have any problems coming up with new ideas and new challenges to tackle. Despite all his endeavors he never declined an opportunity to hang out.

It was sad to see him go after just one semester with us. We all wished him the best, and he was confident that he would be returning to finish up at MICA. I remember seeing him at the end of the year during our commemorative show for another friend who passed away. It was such a great suprise. When he and I got the chance to correspond, he always said that he wanted to come back and we were trying to arrange a time for him to come and visit.

Rett was an endless fount of inspiration for me. I wanted to know everything that he knew about computers and have the dedication and positive attitude towards my work that he did. He was well loved by his friends here, and I know I can speak for all of them when I say that we miss him immensely.