Johali has passed

Damn that sucks :( he seemed like a great guy. Didn’t know him personally, but respected his input as a pillar member of this site. Always down to talk racing and get in a few fun jabs.

RIP big guy. Here’s a cold one for ya:cheers:
 
Pat said:
I never met Johali in person, but felt he was a friend here. This saddens my heart. Prayers to the family. May he R.I.P.
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I didn't either but he always invited me to stop by on the way to our Gainesville race for lunch but my timing just didn't work out...now I wished I would have put in a little more effort and made it happen. I can't put into words how I feel right now. Now I really want to see Johali's driver Chase Elliott win the championship. Gods speed Johali.:salute:
 
I'll be honest: for some reason, Johali was never really nice to me. Almost always took shots at something I posted, to the point that he became the only poster that I ever tried to put on ignore (which doesn't work, btw). No idea why I struck him the wrong way, but as soon as I got a notification that said "Johali has quoted your post" I knew without looking it wouldn't be nice.

Having read this news, and having read everyone's tributes, I'm feeling pretty sad - but mostly I have a lot of regret. I never once took the time to reach out to him and ask why I seemed to rub him the wrong way. Or why he felt like he did, or disagreed with something I said, etc. Maybe there was something I could have done better, or differently. Or a way for us to understand each other's point of view. I can't help but think we really would have enjoyed each other's company irl. He seemed like a really good guy with lots of stories and lots to offer.

I really wish I had taken the time to get closer to him, rather than distance myself. I guess that's a good life lesson to learn, and the best way to honor him moving forward.
 
Allenbaba said:
I'll be honest: for some reason, Johali was never really nice to me. Almost always took shots at something I posted, to the point that he became the only poster that I ever tried to put on ignore (which doesn't work, btw). No idea why I struck him the wrong way, but as soon as I got a notification that said "Johali has quoted your post" I knew without looking it wouldn't be nice.

Having read this news, and having read everyone's tributes, I'm feeling pretty sad - but mostly I have a lot of regret. I never once took the time to reach out to him and ask why I seemed to rub him the wrong way. Or why he felt like he did, or disagreed with something I said, etc. Maybe there was something I could have done better, or differently. Or a way for us to understand each other's point of view. I can't help but think we really would have enjoyed each other's company irl. He seemed like a really good guy with lots of stories and lots to offer.

I really wish I had taken the time to get closer to him, rather than distance myself. I guess that's a good life lesson to learn, and the best way to honor him moving forward.
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I feel the same way that you do. Johali and I did not get along. I never said a nice word about him nor him I.

I've felt pretty crappy the last day because obviously he was an extremely well liked poster and it just feels bad that I never had those sort of interactions with him. I was reading through his posts in the vacation thread and he just seemed like a very interesting and thoughtful guy. I wish I would have done something to make our posting relationship less hostile because this isn't a good feeling.
 
Allenbaba said:
I'll be honest: for some reason, Johali was never really nice to me. Almost always took shots at something I posted, to the point that he became the only poster that I ever tried to put on ignore (which doesn't work, btw). No idea why I struck him the wrong way, but as soon as I got a notification that said "Johali has quoted your post" I knew without looking it wouldn't be nice.

Having read this news, and having read everyone's tributes, I'm feeling pretty sad - but mostly I have a lot of regret. I never once took the time to reach out to him and ask why I seemed to rub him the wrong way. Or why he felt like he did, or disagreed with something I said, etc. Maybe there was something I could have done better, or differently. Or a way for us to understand each other's point of view. I can't help but think we really would have enjoyed each other's company irl. He seemed like a really good guy with lots of stories and lots to offer.

I really wish I had taken the time to get closer to him, rather than distance myself. I guess that's a good life lesson to learn, and the best way to honor him moving forward.
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I'm sure you don't remember me, but I remember you from my days when I still posted in the NASCAR Chat section. I remember you and Johali butting heads a lot. As I alluded to in my previous post, I did the same with him plenty of times, as did @Michfan and others. As @blanston said, Johali could definitely be a bit of a curmudgeon sometimes, and he was absolutely set in his ways and in his opinions. There was no room for debate. He would say his piece, and then when you tried to fight with him, he would just be like

giphy.gif


I used to feel the exact same way you did when he and I were butting heads. It felt like we were always at odds with one another, and honestly, I hated it. On the rare times when he would quote me, I would get a quick little momentary pang of dread, wondering what I was going to find when the next page loaded up and his quote was on my screen. I used to wonder why he seemingly hated me.

I left the forum for a little while after all the Ferguson stuff went down. The discussion about it was getting pretty intense, and I just decided that I needed a break. When I came back, I noticed that @Greg had made a thread wondering where I was, and other people were curious as to my whereabouts as well. (Unfortunately, the thread was lost to the void when the server crashed a while back.) Johali had come in at some point and said something super nonchalant like "well, people come and go," or something to that effect. When I saw it, I laughed, and when I replied to the thread saying that I was back, I said something like "I missed everybody - even you, Johali." He responded with a tongue sticking out emoticon, or something similar. :XXROFL:

From that moment forward, I decided to stop taking everything that was said on this forum so seriously. I stopped caring so much about whether or not folks liked me and just started having fun and laughing more. In the process, I eventually came to learn that no, Johali didn't hate me. I'm absolutely certain that I wasn't his favorite person on the forum by any means, but we just disagreed on almost everything - and that's okay. We still butted heads sometimes, as I have at some point with plenty of other people here before and after my hiatus - and that's okay. R-F is like a big family, and families have fights and disagreements sometimes. It took me a while to get to a place where I could fully understand and accept that.
 
be9ak7ts16 said:
So long old friend. I treasure the time we spent together on this message board, and even more the chance to have gotten to know you. You made this a better place. I will miss you. Last night I hoisted a Bud Light and a shot of Jack in your honor. Rest In Peace my friend.
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Man, that avatar.

I thought it was a mountain of some sort for the longest time. It wasn't until years later I realized it was an alligator than I went, well duh, the gator thing then makes even more sense. I'll miss that image.
 
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In my short time here I only knew Johali as the well traveled pre-race guy that never failed to post like clockwork....it's abundantly obvious that he was much more than that to many here both on and off the forum.

He may have had a disdain for gifs, but I know I got him to laugh at one (one time), maybe he was a fan of the same show as me or just enjoyed that it was an older guy in the gif, I wish I had asked, but here is what he chuckled at:
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I hope he is still laughing at that one and resting in infinite peace. He'll be missed.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
His wife may show up some time. She will probably be coming in under Johali's name -- she told me he had shown her how to sign on.
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I can’t imagine what she is going through. Perhaps our words here will give her some comfort. He was a big part of our little family and he will be missed.
 
no need for me to come back here, but can't get this feeling out of my head...

to those of you who banged heads with him: I did too. when I first came here I approached this place like others I had posted on. I was/am an Earnhardt fan. and I poked every Gordon fan with the sharpest stick I could find. and that meant Johali when I arrived here. I know I rubbed him the wrong way and I am sure he had great disdain for everything I posted. but eventually..

I was again joking around about Jeff Gordon, and a failed burnout that at the time was a great debating point about traction control and jeff's success.

and this Gordon fan named Johali sent me the link to the debate from this website that occurred long before I arrived here. right then I knew the guy was a race fan, no different than me, with the exception of who our favorite driver was.
 
Condolences.

I always depended on that wet reptile’s pre-race post. I remember thinking to thank him for his diligence.......I’m old and forgetful so I hope I did.

I didn’t remember interacting with him much so I sifted through some ‘like’s I’ve gotten and it brought back good memories plus gave at least a small feel of connecting with another race fan and a good person.

Everything from the recent hurricane to Darlington and Indy memories. Auto racing is so good.

RIP
 
TexasRaceLady said:
I think it was a word from the movie "The Jewel of the Nile". It seems to me that it meant "jewel" in the local language.
People kept shouting it at the holy man who was called the Jewel of the Nile.
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Thanks. I learned something. Here I thought it was the first 2 letters of his name and the other members of his family. I don't know where I got that idea.
 
Allenbaba said:
I'll be honest: for some reason, Johali was never really nice to me. Almost always took shots at something I posted, to the point that he became the only poster that I ever tried to put on ignore (which doesn't work, btw). No idea why I struck him the wrong way, but as soon as I got a notification that said "Johali has quoted your post" I knew without looking it wouldn't be nice.

Having read this news, and having read everyone's tributes, I'm feeling pretty sad - but mostly I have a lot of regret. I never once took the time to reach out to him and ask why I seemed to rub him the wrong way. Or why he felt like he did, or disagreed with something I said, etc. Maybe there was something I could have done better, or differently. Or a way for us to understand each other's point of view. I can't help but think we really would have enjoyed each other's company irl. He seemed like a really good guy with lots of stories and lots to offer.

I really wish I had taken the time to get closer to him, rather than distance myself. I guess that's a good life lesson to learn, and the best way to honor him moving forward.
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This is where I was with him as well. We rarely got along and frequently bickered. We had pretty much opposite points of view on the world and were equally convinced that we were right.

At the end of the day, we are all people behind the keyboard with lives and families who love us and whose lives we enrich. I wish that I could've had a better relationship with him but it's too late to change the past.

This is a sobering reminder that we are all people here and that we should appreciate the humanity in one another.

Rest in Peace Gator, may you keep watch over the great swamp in the sky.
 
Oh man. What a gut punch. I had the pleasure of talking to Johali on the phone a few times and meeting him at MIS in June of 2015. It started raining a bit when I was talking to him and he said "Well, I better get back inside before I melt!" Super nice guy and a true race fan.
 
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