Here is my last correspondence with Philip:
Philip Churchill <philflintstone@YXXXX.com>
3/26/14
I'm sorry I haven't responded lately, Ben. I've been so involved with my parents that I haven't had time. My stepmother went into hospice last Thursday and will soon pass away, probably sometime today. I have finished getting the funeral arrangements in place for when that happens. My father says he no longer has any reason to live and wants to go to Heaven with my stepmother. He has gotten so weak that I don't expect him to live much longer anyway. He will probably go within a month or so.
Will get back to you when things settle down.I responded:
Benjamin Eble <benjamxxxxxx@gmail.com>
3/26/14
Hello Philip,
I completely understand. Since this will probably be the last time that you are able to spend time with your parents, please make the best of it.
Sincerely,
Ben"
Eight weeks later, he would be gone.
Philip and I corresponded for years, I think since the fall of 2011. He was immensely interested in Native American flintknapping. He was interested in all of my experiments. He wanted to carry out his own experiments, based on the "boatload of information" that he had become aware of. But, he was overloaded with Danish dagger orders. Then, towards the end, his parents needed to be put into a nursing home. So, when he was able to, he weighed in on my own experiments. At times we both struggled to understand things that just seemed impenetrable, with regard to certain records.
As excited as he was, he just did not make it to see the good stuff. We knew that we were on to something. But, when he passed away, there were still many hurdles to overcome.
This is what Philip would have wanted to see:
Outrepasse reduction with typical deer tine flaker:
Naturally, I look at my work with sadness when I realize that the person who showed the most interest in Native American flintknapping, died before the experiments, and research, came to fruition. Still, the trail remains intact for others. It is all in the records.
Also, many of the really important correspondences - including two very personal letters he sent in 2011 - were wiped out, when my Paleoplanet account was deleted. Fortunately, many of the technical observations still stand out in my mind.
Generally, Philip could explain things in terms of a flintknapper's point of view, and then in terms of some types of archaeological data. He was well read.
On one occasion, he surprised me by saying that no one would believe that a particular flaking I had made had been made via "antler". He said that people would think that it had been made via copper. When I asked "why", he said that it was because the initiation was really small, but the flake extremely expansive. He said that it would easily pass for copper percussion.
His death also really took me by surprise because I believe he had become concerned about his health, and had shed maybe thirty pounds, or so. He was on a strict diet, and doing really well with the weight loss... It seems unfair that the person who was the most interested in all of this never got to see it...
