John

My good friend lost her step father last Monday. It is such a painful loss because he wasn’t old enough to die, and his illness—cancer—seemed to play an unfairly significant part of the last years of his life.

My favorite memories of John were when his step-daughter and I were teenagers. She would throw very lovely dinner parties—a precocious diversion for a teen and one of the things I have always admired about her—and John and her mother would chat a bit with us early in the evening but then leave us to our thing. I remember talking with him about science and computers mostly. I also remember feeling very adult while conversing with him. In retrospect it might be because he was a professor and accustomed to young interlocutors, but also, he is such a warm, friendly guy.

Hearing about John’s death and some other really dreadful news about a friend’s health have really made this last week tough. Coming back to Austin has been quite wonderful for me in that I am back in touch with some very dear friends. It has also made me realize how much it hurts when your community hurts.

I knew John through his wife’s child. How many people will I know through Tillie?

John M. Slatin

[Image from: http://blog.fawny.org/2005/03/06/portraits/]