Monday, August 3, 2015

A difficult summer...

     So it has been an unexpectedly difficult summer for me.  Not long after finding out about Brian's accidental death while he was night skiing over new years, I got a call from my oldest and closest friend's mother.  She was having a hard time speaking, but through passing the phone back and forth with Nathan's father, they had informed me that he had experienced a seizure while getting ready for work July 2nd and died from what is believed to be the accompanying heart attack.

     Nathan has been a part of my life for around 25 years now, and through all that time his seizures were an ever present annoyance, but I must admit that the call still came as a shock.

     This last weekend was his memorial and the night before it took place I was asked to write "Welcome to Nathan's Celebration of Life" on a poster board to put next to the road to show people where to park.  I felt that since art is what I had to offer, art is what I would give.


     I have always been a fan of the art nouveau style, and Nathan was a fan of brewing his own beer, so I tried to make it feel a bit like a beer bottle label.  The beer bottles are there to help with the composition, but also because he brewed his own beers and had been considering opening a indie brewery in Eugene, OR.  I also took the info they had and made a program for the event, which I felt was important and was well received.  I wish I could have done more, but for being asked to do it the evening before I am happy with the results.  


     Strangely enough, I found that our yard sale sign seemed to be designed perfectly to fit that size paper.  A convenient break I hadn't thought about since I never buy poster board.  One thing I learned from this was that I need a better ventilated area if I am going to spend 2-3 hours with Sharpies.  :\


     After the event, my brother and I, as well as our friends Mikey, Shana, and Karen went to the pub Nathan and I used to frequent to drink a shot in his honor.  Whenever we found ourselves back in our hometown at the same time, we would go down to the Black Sheep, have a pint or two and throw some darts.  I am not a whiskey drinker, but Nathan was a fan so I downed a Jameson.  He would have laughed at my expression.


     He was a great guy, and he will be missed.

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