On February 1st, 2006, RF Generation tragically lost one of its founding members and webmaster. Michael Collins was a friend to many, and loss hit hard through out the community. Since that time we have had the time to grieve, and to cope, but it still pains us to know that Mike has moved on to the next life. You may not have directly known Mike, but one thing is for certain - your viewing of this page, this site, is proof alone that Mike has directly or indirectly touched your life. This website, this database - would more than likely be nonexistent had Mike not got people around to make it with him. This site is a true refelection of Mike, its design, its philosophies, its spirit, are truly a reflection of Mike. While we know that Mike is gone for good from this earth we take solace knowing that in everyway this site is a reflection of Mike's spirit and personality. You may have never known Mike but without him you may have never known us.
One of Mike's tenets was that "No one Here Should be Forgotten." We hold strong to this tenet, and we know that we will never forget Mike. Mike was a wonderful human being, and had he not created this site with Laurel, Mark, Mike, Eddie, and Rick we certainly would not have the wonderful community that we have today. We will never forget you Mike, and we hope that you will never forget him too.
It has been a while since Mike passed, and in that time we've been able to reflect on Mike's life. Our individual thoughts, memories, and reflections of Mike can be found below. We hope that you will read them. While it only shows two reflections at a time if you refresh it should change the reflections. We hope these reflections will truly give you an idea of how great of a person Mike was. If you have a reflection that you would like to contribute you are more than welcome to submit one by contacting the Site Director.
Remembering Mike
One year later. One year of grieving, coming to terms, moving forward, and everything else that occurs when you lose a good friend unexpectedly. I's been one year, and it still sucks that Mike is gone. The weeks after Mike's passing were terribly difficult. Perhaps it was just me, but it took a while to accept the fact that Mike was gone. I hoped that maybe, perhaps by some miracle he would IM me, bored, looking for something to do. However, the fact was that Mike was gone for good, and that realization sure sucked.
It's a lot more boring without Mike. We were all cheapskates, and Mike always had the cheapskate option for things to do. Sure, watching a movie, or making a toolbar unknowingly filled with spyware may be boring to some, but that's what we did, and it was fun. Mike was the planner of the things to do, so its been much more boring without Mike.
Mike was a good friend to me, and the cornerstone of RF Generation. Mike lived with the mantra "No One Here Should be Forgotten." Mike is right. No one should be ever be forgotten. You may be gone Mike, but your memory lives on. You will never be forgotten.
-David Murnan (TraderJake), Sep. 8, 2008, 22:41:24
I hung out with Mike on most weekends Sophomore and Junior year of high school, during which times our group made many fond memories. I always was sad that we didn’t keep in better contact after those years, but we were all growing and changing and it was hard to keep in touch. One of the things I liked best about Mike is how he was open to trying new things- it really kept things exciting. I’ll never forget when we celebrated Thanksgiving Dinner our junior year of high school and he let us shave his head! Another time I especially remember is when we took a trip to Miami Whitewater Golf Course driving range to hit golf balls. Anyone that knows me knows I love golf- but I always had a hard time finding someone to play with. Eventually I convinced our friends Chris and Josh to go and Mike willingly came to- to my surprise and excitement. We had a great time that day. Thanks, Mike for so many fun memories.
-Andrea Breitenbach, Feb. 3, 2007, 06:11:08
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