ChloeTzang
Literotica Guru
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- Apr 14, 2015
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Last year, Literotica ran the 2023 "Heroism - the Oggbashan Memorial Event" for the first time, an event held in memory of one of our long-time members, a prolific writer, a mainstay of the Authors Hangout for many many years, and a mentor and friend to many of us. Ogg died quietly in his bed on 30 May 2023 after a lengthy battle with cancer - a battle he fought for far longer and with far more tenacity than even he anticipated. Shortly after Ogg's death, Literotica ran the first of what's intended to be an annual ‘Heroism - the Oggbashan Memorial Event’, a tribute to a man too damned stubborn to bow to life’s bitter sentences, too proud to stay silent and too full of life to simply fade away.
Ogg was aware that this annual event would be held, but had requested that the first be postponed until after his death. TarnishedPenny organized the first event last year (thank you, TP), and I've volunteered to organize this year's event - the second - built around the theme of heroism - stories about heroes and heroines, how to define and recognize heroism, what heroism means to us as authors and, perhaps, what heroism means to the characters in their own tales.
Heroism wears a thousand faces. Some types of heroism are easy to recognize - the soldier going into battle is perhaps the most instantly recognizable - the RAF pilots in the battle of Britain who flew their Spitfires and Hurricanes against the Luftwaffe, the Marines and soldiers who stormed Iwo Jima and the beaches of Normandy, and rather more currently, the Ukrainian soldiers defending their country against the Russian invaders. But there are many other faces to heroism. The white-hot bravery that sends a stranger running into a burning house to save another’s children. The selfless devotion demonstrated by medical staff and first responders in the face of highly contagious diseases such as Ebola. The elderly Japanese retirees whom, after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, volunteered to help with the cleanup so younger workers could avoid the radiation. The engineers and workers who fought the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, many of whom subsequently died. The first astronauts, blasting off into space.
The early explorers, sailing into the unknown time and time again - men such as Pytheas, sailing into the Arctic, Hanno the Carthaginian, circumnavigating Africa, the seamen of Sumer, who sailed India and back at the dawn of recorded history, the Portugese and Spanish seamen braving the world's oceans in their carvels, Zheng He leading Chinese fleets to India and Africa. The aborigines who, 80,000 years ago, sailed across 400 miles of sea to Australia. There are many many such examples, and most of those who participated didn't think of themselves as heroes. They were simply men and women caught up in circumstances and events which turned them into heroes, as has happened since the dawn of time, is happening now, and will continue to happen as long as we exist.
The hero or the heroine has existed across all time and all cultures - heroic tales from antiquity - the story of Gilgamesh, the Mahabharata, Jason and the Argonauts and the other Heroes of the Greek Myths. Horatius holding the bridge. The Arthurian tales and the last stand of Roman Britain against the Saxon invaders. Beowulf. Mulan leading a Chinese army against the invaders from the steppe. The Norse sagas, tales of courage and defiance in the face of adversity and fearful odds. The Japanese samurai. The Crusaders. The Vietnamese who fought China for a thousand years to eventually regain independence for Vietnam. The soldiers who held Vienna against the Ottoman Empire. The men who fought at Lepanto. The Conquistadors, and the soldiers of the Inca Empire who fought against them.
But there’s also more subtle types of heroism, the quiet, stubborn refusal to bow to ill fate, a poor widow fighting to keep her children fed, the working poor who struggle on, year after year, a lone, unarmed and anonymous figure standing in front of a column of tanks, there are far too many examples for me to use them all, but I'd like to add the example of Ogg himself, a good man stubbornly refusing to do the expected, to simply give up and let cancer overwhelm him.
With Ogg's example in mind, this event is entitled ‘Heroism - the Oggbashan Memorial Event’, and is open to all. Stories and essays may be of any length, in any category, and may be erotic or non-erotic as you choose. The theme is heroism, past, present and future - descriptions of heroic acts, discussions and insights about the meaning and importance of heroism, choose your subject as you will.
Thank you, Ogg. We miss you.
The Rules for this event are straightforward
1. Have a story idea with the theme of heroism.
2. Any category, any length you like. But please, only stand-alone stories (if you want to clarify that, just ask here in this Official Support Thread).
3. Author must copy and paste the phrase "OGGBASHAN MEMORIAL EVENT 2024" in the "Notes" field of the submission. We recommend that you COPY & PASTE it into the NOTES field to avoid typos.
4. Please use “Oggbashan Memorial” as a story tag.
5. All entries to be submitted from June 13th through to 11:59pm, July 13th - with a Go Live Date of Sunday July 14th. All stories will be posted on Sunday July 14th.
Richard (Dick to his friends) was born in Wales in 1944, the son of a civil servant with the British Admiralty. His father’s career led the family to Gibraltar and then to Australia before he returned to England for schooling. While in school, he picked up the nickname of ‘Oggbashan’. (That tale, too long to recount here, is in his Literotica biography.) As an adult, Ogg followed his father into the Admiralty, working in equipment logistics, before eventually moving to the Post Office, later becoming a project manager for British Telecom, and finally to the Kent Council where he steered the integration of new IT systems, including the development and fielding of some large-scale telecommunications systems before indulging in his passion for books by opening a bookstore, which he ran for 10 years, and which became renowned for its 1p book sales. He was an enthusiastic collector of books and old toys which he loved to share with anyone interested. Ogg was an athlete, enjoying rugby, hiking, camping and climbing; he served with a cliff rescue team for some years. He became heavily involved in community affairs, advocating passionately for minorities, small businesses and just plain ordinary folk as well as continuously being involved in community affairs in the town he lived in.
Oggbashan joined Literotica in 2002 and, over the next 21 years, published almost 500 stories under that penname alone. He also wrote under a second pseudonym, Jeanne_d_artois. He became one of the true characters here on Literotica, well-known for his friendly welcomes to newcomers and openness to those asking for advice. Ogg did not however suffer fools gladly and was never one to keep silent in the face of anything he perceived to be foolish or unprincipled.
Sadly, Ogg was diagnosed as terminally ill and at that time, he was told he should expect to last through to mid-2018. Ogg’s defining moment came in 2019, when he announced to the Lit world that he was suffering from stage 4 lung cancer and had but a few months to live. Despite that dire diagnosis, not only did Ogg maintain his online presence here on Literotica, he continued to write stories and post on the forums, he astonished the medical profession by continuing on for almost four more productive years, sometimes, it seemed, solely due to his strong will. His good humour and quiet courage in the face of adversity became an inspiration to many during this time.
Ogg died 30 May, 2023, aged 79. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and three grandchildren. His family provided much of the content for this biography, as well as sharing the link to his funeral with those of us on Literotica who knew him well.
RIP Oggbashan. You live on in your stories and in the memories of those who knew you....
,
Ogg was aware that this annual event would be held, but had requested that the first be postponed until after his death. TarnishedPenny organized the first event last year (thank you, TP), and I've volunteered to organize this year's event - the second - built around the theme of heroism - stories about heroes and heroines, how to define and recognize heroism, what heroism means to us as authors and, perhaps, what heroism means to the characters in their own tales.
Heroism wears a thousand faces. Some types of heroism are easy to recognize - the soldier going into battle is perhaps the most instantly recognizable - the RAF pilots in the battle of Britain who flew their Spitfires and Hurricanes against the Luftwaffe, the Marines and soldiers who stormed Iwo Jima and the beaches of Normandy, and rather more currently, the Ukrainian soldiers defending their country against the Russian invaders. But there are many other faces to heroism. The white-hot bravery that sends a stranger running into a burning house to save another’s children. The selfless devotion demonstrated by medical staff and first responders in the face of highly contagious diseases such as Ebola. The elderly Japanese retirees whom, after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, volunteered to help with the cleanup so younger workers could avoid the radiation. The engineers and workers who fought the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, many of whom subsequently died. The first astronauts, blasting off into space.
The early explorers, sailing into the unknown time and time again - men such as Pytheas, sailing into the Arctic, Hanno the Carthaginian, circumnavigating Africa, the seamen of Sumer, who sailed India and back at the dawn of recorded history, the Portugese and Spanish seamen braving the world's oceans in their carvels, Zheng He leading Chinese fleets to India and Africa. The aborigines who, 80,000 years ago, sailed across 400 miles of sea to Australia. There are many many such examples, and most of those who participated didn't think of themselves as heroes. They were simply men and women caught up in circumstances and events which turned them into heroes, as has happened since the dawn of time, is happening now, and will continue to happen as long as we exist.
The hero or the heroine has existed across all time and all cultures - heroic tales from antiquity - the story of Gilgamesh, the Mahabharata, Jason and the Argonauts and the other Heroes of the Greek Myths. Horatius holding the bridge. The Arthurian tales and the last stand of Roman Britain against the Saxon invaders. Beowulf. Mulan leading a Chinese army against the invaders from the steppe. The Norse sagas, tales of courage and defiance in the face of adversity and fearful odds. The Japanese samurai. The Crusaders. The Vietnamese who fought China for a thousand years to eventually regain independence for Vietnam. The soldiers who held Vienna against the Ottoman Empire. The men who fought at Lepanto. The Conquistadors, and the soldiers of the Inca Empire who fought against them.
But there’s also more subtle types of heroism, the quiet, stubborn refusal to bow to ill fate, a poor widow fighting to keep her children fed, the working poor who struggle on, year after year, a lone, unarmed and anonymous figure standing in front of a column of tanks, there are far too many examples for me to use them all, but I'd like to add the example of Ogg himself, a good man stubbornly refusing to do the expected, to simply give up and let cancer overwhelm him.
With Ogg's example in mind, this event is entitled ‘Heroism - the Oggbashan Memorial Event’, and is open to all. Stories and essays may be of any length, in any category, and may be erotic or non-erotic as you choose. The theme is heroism, past, present and future - descriptions of heroic acts, discussions and insights about the meaning and importance of heroism, choose your subject as you will.
Thank you, Ogg. We miss you.
The Rules for this event are straightforward
1. Have a story idea with the theme of heroism.
2. Any category, any length you like. But please, only stand-alone stories (if you want to clarify that, just ask here in this Official Support Thread).
3. Author must copy and paste the phrase "OGGBASHAN MEMORIAL EVENT 2024" in the "Notes" field of the submission. We recommend that you COPY & PASTE it into the NOTES field to avoid typos.
4. Please use “Oggbashan Memorial” as a story tag.
5. All entries to be submitted from June 13th through to 11:59pm, July 13th - with a Go Live Date of Sunday July 14th. All stories will be posted on Sunday July 14th.
Then out spoke brave Horatius, the Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth, death cometh soon or late;
And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods.,....
And for both posterity, and for those who knew Ogg on the AH and on Literotica, I've included a short biography below."To every man upon this earth, death cometh soon or late;
And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his Gods.,....
Richard (Dick to his friends) was born in Wales in 1944, the son of a civil servant with the British Admiralty. His father’s career led the family to Gibraltar and then to Australia before he returned to England for schooling. While in school, he picked up the nickname of ‘Oggbashan’. (That tale, too long to recount here, is in his Literotica biography.) As an adult, Ogg followed his father into the Admiralty, working in equipment logistics, before eventually moving to the Post Office, later becoming a project manager for British Telecom, and finally to the Kent Council where he steered the integration of new IT systems, including the development and fielding of some large-scale telecommunications systems before indulging in his passion for books by opening a bookstore, which he ran for 10 years, and which became renowned for its 1p book sales. He was an enthusiastic collector of books and old toys which he loved to share with anyone interested. Ogg was an athlete, enjoying rugby, hiking, camping and climbing; he served with a cliff rescue team for some years. He became heavily involved in community affairs, advocating passionately for minorities, small businesses and just plain ordinary folk as well as continuously being involved in community affairs in the town he lived in.
Oggbashan joined Literotica in 2002 and, over the next 21 years, published almost 500 stories under that penname alone. He also wrote under a second pseudonym, Jeanne_d_artois. He became one of the true characters here on Literotica, well-known for his friendly welcomes to newcomers and openness to those asking for advice. Ogg did not however suffer fools gladly and was never one to keep silent in the face of anything he perceived to be foolish or unprincipled.
Sadly, Ogg was diagnosed as terminally ill and at that time, he was told he should expect to last through to mid-2018. Ogg’s defining moment came in 2019, when he announced to the Lit world that he was suffering from stage 4 lung cancer and had but a few months to live. Despite that dire diagnosis, not only did Ogg maintain his online presence here on Literotica, he continued to write stories and post on the forums, he astonished the medical profession by continuing on for almost four more productive years, sometimes, it seemed, solely due to his strong will. His good humour and quiet courage in the face of adversity became an inspiration to many during this time.
Ogg died 30 May, 2023, aged 79. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and three grandchildren. His family provided much of the content for this biography, as well as sharing the link to his funeral with those of us on Literotica who knew him well.
RIP Oggbashan. You live on in your stories and in the memories of those who knew you....
,
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