la saddness

[weathermaker]

hey people...

so i just found out that a friend i had been working with at MoCA in LA lost his battle with cancer. tripped out thing was that he was about to get married in march, i was making a print for him as a gift to his guests, and he was diagnosed with colon cancer (at age 28!!!) two weeks prior to his wedding. it was later discovered that he may have actually had germ cell cancer (cancer of the sex cells, especially when found elsewhere in the body??), which i had never heard of before...if you research it, it seems pretty strange.

the cancer took him over quickly, and he passed away may 13th.

in honor of him on his birthday today, two days later, i'd just like to say that he was a great guy to work with, a friend, a sincere and genuine person, well loved. He had a sense of abundance to him that made you think he might be the honorary king of spain. he wore green everyday and swiveled his iced coffee drinks from the wrist with bravado...he was a painter, played polo(!!), had a wonderful laugh and perspective, and it's a terrible loss to see him go so young, and leave a young fiance behind.

i'm going to print their wedding piece now for his memorial service. i'll post it when it's done.

[vastagh]

wow. thats heavy stuff.

your words have already done him justice here. I'm sure the memorial print will be just as honorable.

thoughts and prayers you guys' way tonight...

[farleypig]

i'm so sorry to hear this - so much sadness for the ones left behind.
glad you are still printing the piece. i'm sure it will mean a lot to his family.

[scrojo]

sorry to hear that. sounds like a great guy.


maybe you should throw him a good old fashion irish wake and ask everyone to stir their drinks "from the wrist with bravado".

[VonDada]

That sucks. Jesus. So young.

[El Negro Magnifico!]

That's horrible! Fucking cancer.

[Francisco]

I'm not on Gee Pee lately. But this does strike a chord with me. As a cancer surviver of two transplants(bone marrow and stem cell). Hearing the tragedy of a lost friend always strikes me.

I'm sorry for your loss. Cancer is tragic and sometimes fast ailment that can bring friends and family together more more than you would think.

glad you're going to finish the print.

[Chim Chim]

Sorry to hear about your loss and good luck with the print, man.

My friend Carl's wife was taken by cervical cancer recently - she was 27. She was diagnosed last year, given the all clear by Xmas, then it came back in January in three different places. She was dead by April. They just had a little boy together too, but I suppose in some twisted way that's a good thing to come out of all of this as it will keep Carl going.

The real kicker is that his Mum died of breast cancer when he was really young and in pretty much the same way: diagnosed, cleared, then it came back and she was gone in a matter of months. Life's a bitch, ain't it?

[weathermaker]

thanks for all your kind words...

i think i may drink my iced coffees a bit differently now, at least for a little while. you're right when you said it brings you together more quickly than you might have been otherwise. these past few days i have found myself so thankful to have the loved ones i have, and as cliche' as it may sound, i simply want to honor our time together as best i can. it's hard to realize that we aren't permanent things, even if we think we know it.

[strawberryluna]

awww, wow. that is a crazy sad story. i'm really sorry. i don't know what else to say, cancer just is....ugh. i have a cousin and a close friend going through some heavy, hard cancer/tumor stuff right now, so slightly understand where you are coming from.

it is the sadness, that's for sure.