Day 18: R.I.P. Romero

I’ve been staring at a blinking cursor for nearly thirty minutes. I’m sure you all knew this post was coming, I just don’t know where to start or how to organize my thought… so, I’m just going to start writing… please, forgive the unorganized mess that follows…

It’s not that I’m grieving… it seems silly to grieve for someone you’ve never met… yet, I cried when I woke up to the news that George Harrison died… I had to pull over when the news came out that George Carlin died (I just realized that I lost three George’s that were foundational to my creative being)… and Carrie Fisher’s death last year was rough… so much so, that I’ve had trouble watching The Force Awakens since. Realistically, Romero (over a hundred words into this post and it’s the first time I’ve used his name… maybe, it wasn’t really real to me until I etched it in ones and zeros) has had more of an influence on my creative side than any other artist (though there were would be a photo-finish between Romero and Mel Brooks (for god’s sake Mel, hang in there (and please don’t let Dracula Dead and Loving It be your last movie)).  For some reason, though, when a friend broke the news to me last night (I step away from social media for a weekend and this crap happens!) I had no reaction… my stomach didn’t drop, my heart didn’t change its beat, I wasn’t sad… nothing… not even really numbness, not a thing. I’ve gotten a few texts today from friends who knew how much he meant to me and most of my replies have been a combination of thanks and snark… and not in a putting-on-a-brave-face kind of way… just an honest response: I am so amazed that people would consider me when they found out and I like to find the humor in things (thank Mel). That being said, I’m waiting for the sadness to kick in… don’t get me wrong, as I’m writing these words there is a twinge of melancholy, but not true sorrow. The feeling that is bubbling to the surface is gratitude… we were lucky to have him… I can honestly say that my life was changed the moment Romero’s art came into it (at an inarguably too early an age).

Maybe at some point I will try to write a more detailed retrospective of his career, though, I am sure hundreds of better writers than myself are currently working on these pieces… but, none of them can write about how I feel… so, I decided to corner the marker on Adam. I’m truly sorry if this comes across as self-centered. If you would like something a bit more outward focused, check out my write-up of his classic trilogy… maybe that’s why I’m not feeling too bad… I did a bit of “preprocessing” last month… or maybe I’ll just break down in the next thirty minutes… either way, enough about me…

Thank you, George and try not to eat any friends when you inevitably come back a flesh-eating ghoul.