| One of my oldest friends died last week. It turns out that I talked to him literally a few hours before he died. I should have known something was wrong after that phone call, but I chalked it up to him not getting enough sleep. As he slurred his speech I even asked him if he had gotten enough sleep. He said something incoherent and then good-bye. I thought I would hear from him again, but of course I didn�t. The funeral was Wednesday. I went out to Riverside, where he lived the last few years, for the service. I spoke about what a character he was, and how he often called me early in the morning, and how I�m going to miss him. I�ve known Joe for some 14 years now. I met him in a photo class at Santa Monica College. It was a terrible class with a horrible teacher that didn�t teach. Then again, is there really such a thing as teaching photography? One either has an eye for things or they don�t. Simple. Joe made that class bearable, and downright fun at times. He was nuts, but that�s what made him interesting and different from everyone else. He always spoke his mind, and didn�t mince words. He turned me on to Jack Kerouac, which turned me on to a different way of writing... off the cuff. As annoying as some of his early morning phone calls could be, especially when I was trying to sleep in on my day off, I�m going to miss those calls. I grew up an only child, so to me friends become like siblings, without the rivalry. Joe really was like a brother to me, a crazy but good guy without a single bit of malice in his body. People like that are rare, and I�m glad to have known him. He�s the first friend of mine that has passed away. I guess it was bound to happen, but one is never ready for it. I can only say that he�s left a huge hole in the lives that he touched. We�ll all miss him, I know I will. The following is a picture of my friend�s final resting place.  The whole day was hard, and it really sucks to have to say that I dealt with it with the help of my previous experiences with death. It really sucks to be burying a friend, because they aren�t supposed to die now. They�re supposed to die when we are all grey and wrinkled. That�s the tragedy of someone dying when they are young, the potential. I�ll miss you Joe. Thanks for always making me laugh and being there. He was the first person I talked to after my Mother passed away. He helped me deal with the pain in his style, with laughter. Thank you again.
End Communication. |
