Marc Orchant, in 8th day of coma, remains unpaid by Sethi

[Marc Orchant at DEMO 07. Photo by Shel]

My friend Marc Orchant suffered a massive cardiac infarction on Dec. 2 and remains in a coma. Marc was the first editor for Naked Conversations, during that first month when Robert and I could not get it together and nothing got written. Marc decided he was not suited to counseling the Odd Couple and stepped out of the project.  That jarred Robert  & me into learning how to work together.

Marc has a wonderful wife, Sue, and a kid. The general wisdom on comas--I know very little about them--is that the longer your in one, the less optimistic the prognosis. So the news with Marc is really becoming quite bad.

Like everyone else, I wish there was something I could do and say.  Marc is decent and geerous and bright and much too young to have been so horribly stricken and it makes me sad.

The family updates are being posted on a section of Starr Trek, Oliver Starr's new blog. Oliver and Marc are best friends. I have often seen them together at industry gatherings and they have always felt sort of like a matched set. Oliver, as regular readers here already know, has been embroiled in a scathing divorce from Sam Sethi's Blognation, accusing his former employer fraudulent behavior and nonpayment of wages. This is also where Marc worked until last week.

After a 4 am phone call from Sam to Oliver a couple of days ago, Oliver agreed to stop publicly calling out Sam--if Sam would simply pay Marc's back salary to Sue Orchant. Sam, Oliver reports, did what he always does. He promised to send the check that day, and forward evidence of payment to Oliver.

Then he did nothing.

Earlier, this week Sam accused me of getting my facts wrong in reviewing his record. Yet all week long, smoking guns have been piling up on the side of the path he has taken.