A hero of mine died yesterday.

I wished my return blog post could have been on a happier note but yesterday a big hero of mine passed away.

Sir Terry Pratchett

In 2007 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer and yesterday he lost the fight against it. 

I grew up with his books, some of them I've reread over 20 times already. When I was younger I was just mesmerized by the fantasy world he had created. But when I was older I noticed the second meaning hidden in his stories. It was a way for him to voice out what bugged him in the real world all wrapped in a fantasy package. Some issues were so recognisable even if it was about dragons, trolls or dwarves. His books always made me smile.

I had the honour to meet him a few years back at the Elf Fantasy Fair when he signed my all time favourite Discworld novel 'The Truth'. Me, clumsily showing him my school ID because of the hard spelling of my name, him joking about that it was quite hard to pronounce it properly. I really enjoyed his lecture about his experiences with the world of live roleplaying. I still recall it clearly: 'Football hooligans are better accepted than fantasy fans and live roleplayers. When you see those hooligan groups travelling to another town to throw rocks at the opposing hooligan group, they are seen as a bunch of great chaps who just like a bit of rough fun in the weekend, but when you tell your co-workers that you spent your weekend in the forest fighting imaginary monsters with foam swords and macaroni spells, you were a complete nut case.'

It made me think about the reason why I was hiding my geeky nature, my love for sci-fi and fantasy. His words made me embrace my true nature, my love and passion. I am a geek, so what.

I am sad that no new Discworld novels will appear written by this witty man but I am glad he doesn't have to fight against that terrible disease Alzheimer any more. I followed his battle against the law so he and other sufferers of this disease could chose to end their lives in a humane way instead of waiting for end, while your mind fades away. 

When I saw the documentary he made with the BBC, Choosing to Die, about assisted suicide it touched my heart. It received a lot of criticism by Christian organisations and pro-life supports, but when people make this choice that they want to end their life because they do not want to suffer any more because of their illness we should respect their choice and not shove an book about an imaginary man or your misguided beliefs in their faces. It is their choice. 

Some of the things he said will always stay with me and sometimes makes me chuckle.

'Knowledge is dangerous, which is why governments often clamp down on people who can think thoughts above a certain calibre'  

'The world is made up of four elements: Earth, Fire, Wind and Water. There is a fifth element, and generally it's called Surprise.'

'Cats will amusingly tolerate humans only until someone comes up with a tin opener that can be operated with a paw.'

'The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.'

Rest well Sir Terry, your words will always be in my heart.