Tuesday, August 2, 2016

A Post About Death & Summer



I'll always remember Prince's death.  Mainly because it was the most recent and famous name of people who have passed in 2016 at the time.  I was working in a warehouse wrapping up a recent order waiting on the next instruction.  I was on my phone when I saw the news via Twitter that Prince had died.  I told the guys I was working with and we all made the same emotional and confusing reaction, "Prince died?"

I was never a fan of the wording of finding out someone has passed.  The present tense, John is dead, always rubbed me the wrong way.  When you say it in present tense, it's as if you're throwing them in the coffin already like the dirt that lays on top of the coffin.  It's as if you've already forgotten about them as soon as you said it.

It's summer time, all I could wish for are memories to create and reminisce about in years to come.  Most of my summer memories are failed attempts of outings with friends and days at home in front of  a fan breezing on me.  Even with the slew of summer television that networks try and fit to fill their summer schedules, I still find myself rewatching The Brendan Leonard Show.



The Brendan Leonard Show started off as a cable access based in Chicago, Illinois created by the show's star Brendan Leonard and his high school friends.  After four years on cable access, the show would later get picked up by The Disney Channel in 2003.  Skits included playing basketball with spatulas, imagining if homework was fun and walking around their small town in high heels.  The show lasted only for 40 episodes but for six weeks a group of friends enjoyed their summer together having stupid fun, turning their ridiculous ideas into skits and making television.

There was something about the show that just connected with me.  They were having the fun I could only wish to have.  One quirk I'll share about myself, I used to document a lot of nonsense.  Everything from TV shows to lyrics from a songs to video games.  I've used this organizational talent to good use and got a contributor credit on TV.com and later TVRage when I was 15.  I used to review shows and add quotes, trivia, all that unnecessary info that you would never look for.  This included added quotes and info from The Brendan Leonard Show to the site.

In one episode they headed to Orlando, Florida and went to Disney World.  Brendan gives a confessional about creating fun at the amusement park; making games in a place that's constructed to give you fun.  As he begins to trail off, the band of the day, Man or Astroman's 'Myopia 10' begins to play.  As the song played, you saw all the antics Brendan and the boys were up to their day in Disney World.  Smiling, splashing and having a blast.  In retrospect it became a song I couldn't help get teary eyed about while listening to it. The only others songs that brought a tear to my eye, was Moby's 'Porcelain' for the movie The Beach and the CDQ version of Kanye West's 'Wolves'.



I try my best not to cry but as soon the songs begins to build, memories of a missed opportunity or someone saying no or an excuse to not go out comes up.  Just an individual trying their best to succeed, build character and strive for greatness but comes up short at every turn.  And have some fucking fun too.  I'm not shy but I do have an uneasiness about doing things by myself.

Now in my untimely death, which I assure you isn't going to done by my own hands (these two themes just kinda meshed together), don't you dare play Tupac at my funeral.  'No Changes' makes zero sense to play but I've seen it used a lot.  No 'I'll Be Missing You' by Puff Daddy either.  No 'Ava Marie', that song is just boring.  No 'Danny Boy', I'm not Scottish breh.  Myopia 10 is the only song I want played.

Whenever someone has breathed their last breathe on this Earth and passed on to another entity, we mourn them and remember them for their past achievements or experiences.  I can only hope that I'm remembered for those good times I've had with people that I have encountered.  I'm sure I've created lasting memories but that one fear is, have I created enough to be remembered or will I just be another former classmate or co-worker that met their demise?  I know I'm not the most handsome fellow but my personality bomb as fuck yo!  So if you ever flaked on me, that's yo fault.  Didn't answer my text?  Yo fault.  Didn't answer back after I call you?  Yo fault.

Near the end of the day when Prince had past, the radio station was playing his music for the rest of the day.  We were working and jamming to 'Kiss' when our supervisor came by and said "You know why they're playing Prince?  Because he's dead."  And just like that she threw dirt on him before the coffin even closed.