And on a somewhat more serious note....

I was reading the obituaries yesterday as is my wont[*] when that very unusual thing happened that sometimes happens - I realized I sort of knew one of the people.

This guy happened to be a bartender at Tosca at a time when I hung out there a lot and was also in a band and so we often talked music when it was slow and he had time to chat. He was a very friendly, super-nice guy who was always totally cool to me. I didn't really know him outside of that situation, but still, it's sobering. He died a week after being diagnosed with melanoma. One week you're here, and the next you're gone. Think about that.

His name was Richie Share. He was kind to me at a point in my life when I needed that. He was a good guy.

[*] Not to sound morbid, but the obituaries have some of the best true stories you'll ever read. Properly done, they're like capsule biographies of people who were, of course, very very famous to the people who knew and loved them but not famous to the rest of us. As it turns out, "normal" people lead extraordinary lives.