How do you say goodbye to your brother from another mother? 

First, we start off with the basics. Jazz Shaw was born and raised in Schuyler, NY on September 24, 1959. He served his country with honor in the US Navy, collecting some great stories along the way. He married Georg Hawks, and the two of them opened their home to rescue animals to give them love and a good life. 

I got to know Jazz 20 years ago or so, when we both began blogging. At the time, he co-blogged at a fun site called the Middle Earth Journal with the late Ron Beasley, who passed away several years ago. It's only fitting that we began our friendship by sharply disagreeing with each other over politics on our respective blogs. We got into a habit of picking out topics for debate and doing a back-and-forth, where we always took each other's point of view with respect -- even while disagreeing.

It didn't take long for us to become fast friends. I feel as though I am telescoping that process too much, although I don't know if I could ever do it justice. The more we learned about each other, the closer we got, and the more fun we had with each other. After I moved to Hot Air, we continued to banter, both in print and in conversations, sometimes live on air and sometimes in private. When I had the opportunity to get him into the mix at Hot Air, I never hesitated -- and it has been an absolute dream ever since to work with him on a daily basis. 

Jazz was a man of many interests, of course. Georg passed this picture along to me (along with all of the others) as her personal favorite, and it reminds me of how much he enjoyed the outdoors. The front-page image is from when he bought that flamethrower, which tickled him no end that it actually was available. He had an easy but persistent curiosity, which is why Jazz could write so effectively across a wide range of subjects. 

But Jazz meant more to me as a friend than a colleague. If you had the blessing of knowing Jazz personally, you know what a huge heart he had. Pet adoption was one of his passions (and Georg's too) and he'd often talk about the dogs and cats they had brought into their home. Every Christmas we'd get some of his homemade horseradish, and it was just awesome. For years, we had fun doing NFL threads on Sundays just to collaborate on posts and shoot the breeze about our favorite teams (his beloved Jets, my Steelers). 

The best part about having Jazz around as a colleague was his friendship, of course, but also his sense of ethics and fairness. If I needed another eye on a take, Jazz was the man to ask. His heart gave him unerring instincts on such matters, and I have grown to rely on him for balance and perspective. 

Perhaps the best part of Jazz was how well he was grounded, and how well he helped us all find our intellectual and moral grounding as well. 

How do we go on without him? Well, we do, and I know Jazz wouldn't have it any other way. He never liked a fuss and had a true work ethic and focus on the mission. But I don't think anyone will truly appreciate how much he will be missed here. I'm not even sure I really know how much I will miss him in the days, weeks, and years ahead. All I know is that I will miss my friend and my brother from another mother every single day.

Goodbye, my brother. We will meet again, and we will have a great reunion when we do. 

At this time, we are working on a memorial show here at Hot Air at some point after the election. Georg believes Jazz would have appreciated that most, so we will share those details when we get those plans in place. If readers want to send condolences, please send them to Georg Hawks and/or Jazz Shaw, PO Box 4, Endicott, NY 13761. 

This last picture may be my favorite, as Jazz and I used to talk about his love of martinis. Perhaps in the next days, we all can lift a glass in salute to a good soul and great friend. Stephen "Vodkapundit" Green has a lovely salute up now.