The sign; Someone asked me to work on a dog-related project. And during the meeting (in a cafe), a jazzy Dylan song was playing, a song that I hadn't heard in years:

If Dogs Run Free

If dogs run free, then why not we
Across the swooping plain?
My ears hear a symphony
Of two mules, trains and rain
The best is always yet to come
That’s what they explain to me
Just do your thing, you’ll be king
If dogs run free

Lovely, thank you.

So dogster finally slipped into the US, despite his previous legal difficulties. Thanks for telling us, cc.

So moving. Thank you.

Miss dear Gpanda and now you will be missed my friend. So sad to hear of your passing, the board has lost a charismatic poster. Travel safe dear Dogster, give Gpanda a hug from me. X

This makes me immensely sad. Dogster's writing was magic, and his personality certainly larger than life.

crosscheck, I got Dogster's true name from his geneology site a long time ago, over a year ago, for sure. There were a couple of replies from his family members at that time, though of course I did not know the relationship between the parties, and I didn't find the details as engaging as Dogster's other writings.

I was however, pleased to finally have that mystery of Dog's identity solved. There was an email option on the site and that's how I contacted Dogster; I was glad he was not who I thought he was, and so was he! I admire his accomplishments, but did not know of him or his work prior to that time ...I only know him for the Dog we have grown to love on this forum.

In the only other subsequent email between us, I asked Dogster which cruise was his favorite. He did not single one out but recommended the 20 day Remotest Burma with Pandaw.

Another talent lost.

This is so sad. I stumbled on his posts and then his blog about a year ago. I was so taken with his writing style at that time that that is all I did for weeks until I read it all. No TV, no fodors, just Dogster.

Aro-o-o-o-o!

Welcome back, travelaw. I was hoping you'd see this. What a grand time we had when dogster was at the helm.

Very sorry to hear the news.

Dogster's posts were always pity, entertaining and had an acute eye for the "off stage" moments & players, as well as being a great source of information. I came here this morning as I'm off back to Nepal & adding Bhutan next year & thought I'd trawl through some of his old posts on them.

I didn't know his other life, but again, enjoyed many of his works over the years; saw "Tap Dogs" 3 times - took my nieces & nephews and they were enthralled.

I hope his quote about sitting on a rock at Orpheus Island (in the SMH article 22/2/'97) is the way it was for him.

"And then he talks again of sitting on the rock, and how he had watched the sea and the sunset for a very long time.


" 'The clouds slowed down and suddenly there was a sense of being in the perfect moment. And I thought, 'I can go now.


I have experienced, very briefly, being in the perfect moment.


I can leave now.' "

Very moving memories of Dogster.

"Pithy", not "pity" - but you knew that. Empathy was more his thing, I believe.

I just read the story about the boy in the darkened room.

I am sad to read about his death. I visited the Asia board because someone sent me one of his tantalizing trip reports and when there were rumors he was going to attend the Boston GTG, I was disappointed that it was only a doll figure that Bob and GPanda presented to us.

If you read the story here, Bok, instead of on his website, you know about the new uniforms and school tuition from Uncle.
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...n-varanasi.cfm

Reading of Dogster's death today made me catch my breath. I found myself instantly sad at the passing of someone I'd never met in the flesh. Like many of you, I was a big fan of his stories. He is missed.

I do, Marija, thanks. Just didn't want to give the end ge away to others who may not have read it all yet.

Eccentricity is a rare gem and I think it's often our loss when the stones are rumbled into smoothness & uniformity.

Liz Koops and Garry McQuinn from Back Row Productions, whose first and most successful production was Tap Dogs, have remembered Nigel Triffitt in a public statement released last Thursday.

“...Nigel enjoyed his role as eminence terrible, with great and often-impudent good humour he revelled in his latter day renegade status. With a mature equanimity born of the security that success finally brought him, Nigel was graciously confrontational, diplomatically indelicate, and seriously witty."

So well said. Thats the dogster we luv. Nigel must be grinning from above about this. :D

I have always been a fan of the dogster. How strange that just last week I commented on a friend wearing a crew Tap Dogs TShirt. How bizarre to see the two worlds collide.

Thanks to everyone that shared links. I now find that I knew both sides of the eclipse of the sun, yet what remains between will always be a joyous enigma.

From one of those links so kindly shared. . . .

"A day later, a reprieve. He telephones. Not only that, he remembers what he said, because the question about joyous moments had worried him. "I thought it rather bleak," he says.

And then he talks again of sitting on the rock, and how he had watched the sea and the sunset for a very long time.

"The clouds slowed down and suddenly there was a sense of being in the perfect moment. And I thought, 'I can go now.

I have experienced, very briefly, being in the perfect moment.

I can leave now.' "

To all who had a more intimate relationship with dogster, my sincere condolences.
RIP dogster, the worlds they do collide.

Hey digester - 100 condolences in 3 days!

God dam iPad! That's suppose to read "dogster" not "digester"!

hanuman, you read my mind that dogster would be delighted to see this thread surge past the 100 message mark so quickly.

Glad to hear we all curse our iPads. They are a useful device with a silly name and fiendishly annoying correction "capabilities."

You can turn off the so-called correction on the iPad. It was one of the first things I did.

Marija - do have a link to the piece you quoted?

Here's the link, thursday:

http://aussietheatre.com.au/news/a-b...igel-triffitt/

And for those who want to <i>see </i> dogster, rent Howling V. He's the professor. (That's why travelaw howled goodbye.)

I looked for it on netflix but not there.
H called Cheap Thrills. Has anyone read it?e also wrote a book

sorry1 He also wrote a book, Cheap thrills. Has anyone readit. Not available on Amazon.

There is now a memorial thread on cruisecritic.com

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1690912

If you are my FB friend you can see a photo I just posted of dogster and Maeng, taken at the Pickled Liver, Bangkok, on Christmas day 2010. A very happy time for all of us.

On the origin of dogster, by dogster :

http://triffitt.wordpress.com/about-the-author/

Thanks for the links, Marija.

simpson510, what's your name on facebook.
[email protected]

You have email, Mimi.

He was an amazingly funny man.

I enjoyed dogster's writings, and his take on life and travel.
A complex man, nonetheless. Good storyteller and he kept me interested reading about his exploits.
I don't know for sure, but I think he kept fodors watch staff occupied.

Dogster travelled the length and breadth of India many times till he became totally fascinated by India. It seems to me that he got inspiration from India that led him to his writings about India.

RIP Dogster .....you will be missed on this forum.

So sorry, Dogster.

On behalf of the Fodor's team, our thoughts are with Dogster's friends and family. As many of you have said already, He was a tremendous asset to the Fodor’s Community and the Asia board. And we know his presence will be greatly missed.

His travel reports were amazing. He will be missed so much by all his friends at Fodor's.

Thank you Marija. I hadn't been on Fodors much lately and just happened to stumble in on the same day crosscheck posted. I was stunned to hear the news. I knew our Dog had some health issues, but I didn't expect him to pass at such a young age. I had recently wondered what he was up to, as I hadn't heard from him in quite a while. Needless to say, my heart is broken. When I discovered his true identity, I guess it was around 2007 or 2008, I felt like I was allowed into a secret society. Dogster was a very special person - he was incredibly kind and helped me get through some tough emotional stuff a couple of years ago. He was always authentic, incredibly wise and probably the wittiest person I've ever met. The world has lost a great person.

One of the tweets from the arts community about dogster's death said he had become a "recluse" in his final years. Little do they know of dogster's "network of distant friends" who will miss him so.