I never really spoke with sensei, being a new noder. However, today, in between some end-of-semester work that I've been doing, I read what people have been writing about him. Then I did a search on him, and read twenty of thirty of his writeups.
To quote The Matrix, WOW! The editor logs were creative, not just a list of things killed and cooled. The other writing showed real insight too. It's weird to think that you can know someone without ever actually meeting that person, but I can honestly say that I did. Sensei is one of the most eloquent and gifted writers I've encountered in my life.
I'm not one to jump on a convenient bandwagon or to write a 'me too' writeup on a node that seems to be attracting cools. I didn't post this until my thoughts were in order beyond any possible doubt.
Sensei, you have my best wishes for a speedy recovery. I've never met you, I've never even communicated with you in any one-on-one manner, which I have with many other noders, but I honestly feel that I know you. I want to know you better. Your name here means, as far as I can recall, something between teacher, elder and mentor. Although I may never meet you, you've been all of those to me. You have my best wishes for a long and happy life. You've been there for many of us on Everything2. And, by extension, through keeping many of my friends on this site, you've been there for me.
/me misses
sensei.