Here’s the hill I’ll die on:
I don’t do well with the concept of mortality.
Tuesday’s strip was an idea I’ve been sitting on for a while. Originally, the setup was going to be Steve and Maree, his wife, with Steve talking about a friend who passed away.
The Steve and Maree strips are usually based pretty directly on Judith and myself. However, a good friend recently revealed he has terminal cancer, with about five months to live. And though he has a wonderful gallows sense of humor, and is living life to the fullest as best he can, I didn’t want anybody to think the gag was written because of his diagnosis.
Mortality has been on my mind much, this year. It started when I saw a Janean Garofolo show in the spring – her stand-up sets in the 90s would often revolve around Starbucks and other Gen X fare. Now, it was mostly AARP gags.
Then, in the summer, I caught the Damned’s 50th anniversary show at Wembley Arena. While the gig was incredible (you can watch it here), being one of the youngest members of an audience that consisted mainly of septuagenarians and octogenarians was an odd feeling. (The lines for the restrooms were longer than the queues for alcohol – a first for any concert I’ve been to.)
Then come the tumble and the broken hand.
Then came the tumble and the concussion.
Then came my friend Tim’s news (hot on the heels of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, but far more personal to me).
I don’t do well with the concept of mortality.
My parents are now 93 and 91, and in fine fettle for their respective ages, so theoretically I have some solid genetics stuffed inside me. IF all goes well. IF I can stay on my feet.
I’m devastated by my friend Tim’s news, though.
We’d talked about working on a Minneapolis fringe show together, with the Dork Tower puppets, tentatively titled “Avenue D&D,” and I was looking forward to jumping into the project, later in the fall, once Munchkin: Discworld was done. He’s a comic genius, and oh lordy do I admire his ability to commit to a bit.
But mostly he’s just a fabulous human being.
I don’t do well with the concept of mortality.
I don’t see why I should.
- John
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