No, he didn’t die or anything that dramatic, but this chapter of his life in Korea has drawn to a close.  As Dave says, his 12+ years here were a nice run.

As is our tradition, we honored Dave with a going away darts tournament.  And did not let him win it (I think that would be back luck or something).  I can attest to the fact that it was a good time and Dave had many friends and well-wishers present from both his darting and photography worlds. 

Dave holding court with some of his buds..

It was good to see Jeese, his wife Kyung Mi and Grant out for the festivaties.

And of course two of my favorite Canucks of the female persuasion, Margaret and Becky.  You know, I don’t know if my fat fingers are blocking the flash or what.  Anyway, sorry for the poor quality of these shots.

Dave and Alisteir the Scot talking over darts strategy.  Hell, I don’t know what the really really discussing, but its a nice lead-in for this “incident” that occurred  during the tourney.

So, to begin, Alisteir is currently the top ranked player in SIDL, and deservedly so.  But his cricket strategy is considered by most somewhat unorthodox.  I mean, obviously it works for him but he catches a fair amount of flack about it.  An example was during our first meeting on Saturday.

Here’s the situation:  I had foolishly left 20s open by throwing a 2 mark.  My partner had closed 19s, so when Alisteir stepped up to the oche they had 20s closed and zero 19s.  His first dart was at the 20 for points which is a smart dart.  He hit a triple which is all the better.  His next dart was another triple 20, which gave them a 120 point lead.  Alisteir’s third dart was another triple 20–a ton-80 for points.

Ok, I was somewhat irked, maybe even a bit miffed, and perhaps a little peeved at this turn of events.  As much at myself for leaving 20s open to begin with as I was at Alisteir for rubbing my nose in it.  Conventional wisdom would be to take one dart for points and then work the open 19.  But that’s not the way Alisteir plays, and he made the point afterwards that when he’s on a number, he prefers to stay there.

Well, my partner and I fought back the best we could and closed the gap, but that 180 points proved to be insurmountable.  So, we exchanged some words after the match and I made some comments that were clearly out of line, because I took it personal.  Alisteir correctly noted that he plays that way against everyone and if anything I should take it as a sign of respect.  He pointed out that I’m the only one who’s swept him 3-0 in a league match.  He was right of course, and I apologized.  I don’t agree with his strategy, but if you fail to close a number, you are responsible for the consequences.  Anyway, I don’t usually let emotions flare up like that and I felt bad about it afterwards.  I certainly bear no grudge and hope Alisteir does not as well.

Anyway, the night was all about Dave anyway and I did have a good time.  Even took a second place in the follow-up tourney (losing out again to Alisteir, but there is no shame in that).

Dave will certainly not be forgotten:

This wall at Dolce Vita is devoted to photographs Dave took of some of Dolce’s regulars.  To really appreciate his talent with the camera, go here.

I guess his cake expresses the sentiments we all feel as Dave moves on to new challenges:

Farewell and good luck.  Hope our paths cross again someday.