Russ.

I've just got off the phone from Michelle (madamemish) and Lang.  Russ (rock_bear) has died.  Don't know how; all we know is that he last LJ'd on Saturday; Michelle hadn't heard from him - got the spare key to his apartment and couldn't get in as the key was still in the lock.  She called the police to break in and they found him in front of the TV.

I don't know what else to say.

A Very Soggy Koala...

I'm sat 5000 miles away and my closest friend in the world has died.  I have gone through the disbelief, the wailing, the anger.  Now, I'm just numb.  The love of many friends has come over the internet and the telephone; if it wasn't for the fact that all the bears I know here have gone off to dinner, I know love would come in that direction too.  There will inevitably be some sort of autopsy/coronors report; I hope I can get back for the funeral, but if I can't, well there are enough people in San Francisco that could hold some sort of a wake.

Plink...

Listen.

Can you hear it?

It's that tiny drop of water dropping into the ether... the ripples echoing throughout the internet.

So much has been written about Russ in the last day.  Tales will continue to be told, growls and Fierce Eyebrows remembered, hugs, tugs and fucks fondly recalled. 

And that, when all is said and done, is a good thing.

Here comes that Joyce Grenfell poem again...

If I should die before the rest of you

Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone

Nor, when I'm gone, speak in a Sunday voice,

But be the usual selves that I have known.

Weep if you must

Parting is hell.

But life goes on.

So sing as well.

 

Joyce Grenfell 1910-1979

An Awfully Big Adventure...

Life, as I hope to live it, is an Awfully Big Adventure.  Highs and, for the moment, lows.  But an adventure I wouldn't miss for all the world.

Here's to us; one more toast and then we'll pay the bill
Deep inside both of us can feel the autumn chill
Birds of passage, you and me
We fly instinctively
When the summers over and the dark clouds hide the sun
Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done

In our lives we have walked some strange and lonely treks
Slightly worn but dignified and not too old for sex
Were still striving for the sky
No taste for humble pie
Thanks for all your generous love and thanks for all the fun
Neither you nor I'm to blame when all is said and done

It's so strange when you're down and lying on the floor
How you rise, shake your head, get up and ask for more
Clear-headed and open-eyed
With nothing left untried
Standing calmly at the crossroads,no desire to run
Theres no hurry any more when all is said and done

Standing calmly at the crossroads,no desire to run
Theres no hurry any more when all is said and done

Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson