Earlier today I recieved a phone call from Zazou, the former DJ from the Lizard Lounge. He called to tell me me that a mutual friend of ours, Brian, one that I’ve known, like Zazou since I had moved to Dallas, had died in a motorcycle accident. I had not seen Brian since May of last year. He, Zazu, little Lori, John, and Sanji had been friends since the Summer of 94, when we had all met at Club A. We had done Friday night BBQs, played card games, drank and then would go to the club together. We would all do breakfast afterwards.
Bottom line, we were enjoying life. After Gina and I moved, we all drifted apart. John got married, Lori disappeared, and everyone else moved on.
Brian was a unique guy. Not the brightest crayon in the box, but he tried. He was the epitomy of an Irish-American bum. Always drinking too hard, always getting thrown in jail. More times than I can remember, he and I would get into trouble together at a bar, and it was pretty much a given that if you were with him, you would not be bored, what with the drama that swirled around him; you’d get sucked in.
The thing is, this is the second instance that someone has passed in my life recently. And it throws in my face the reality of our immortality. It really does shake me up a bit. I have had a very tumultuous journey these last 2 years, traveling and learning. People coming and going in my life for one reason or another. the lesson of death and the fragility of our lives, that we have a chance to connect with others, and that if we fear acting on that, that if we hold back our passions, our loves, our emotions, we could lose the chance forever to connect, to add to our own creation of ourselves.
Before you stands your true self; all the potential you possess, the strength and wisdom, courage and fortitude, compassion and love you have fostered through those people you have met. Will you make it your own, will you take these gifts with you long after their time is passed, after the sting of their lessons have faded? Will the wound become a scar for you to bear till the end, will you become a bitter lesson to others? An example; a road sign for darkened streets best left un-traveled, or will you teach them another way…
I’m rambling again…
