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There's a guy that I know that isn't going to read this.

Back in my days as a Theatre Studies Major (by adding the capital letters, I also add credibility), I met a guy named Wes.  Now, you might be thinking a guy named Wes and a guy named Weh, we had to be best of friends.  We weren't.  We were friends, and I liked him a lot, but I was too busy enjoying my newfound status in my second year in the program to really get to know the next batch of recruits that well.

Over the next three years, our circles crossed paths in that way that only people who are in a department that has less than fifty people in it and forces them to work together constantly every day can.  We worked on a couple of crews together, we joked about the classes, we lived it up at the cast parties - but never really together.  He was kind of this really cool, really funny guy that was always just outside of the periphery of my group.  He was really good friends with people that I was really good friends with, but we never really got to be really good friends ourselves.

When I graduated, I went on to the wonderful world of corporate culture.  I chased money instead of sticking it out, and while I don’t have any regrets about where I am today, I’ve always wondered where I’d be if I’d stuck it out.

Wes stuck it out.  He continued to work in the theatre, travelled from coast to coast and overseas. He kept living the life that I ultimately decided wasn't the one that I wanted.  That may be one of the reasons why we didn't keep in touch, I don't know.  

Another thing about Wes was that he had Cystic Fibrosis.  It was something he lived with, and from what I've gathered, something that he had made peace with.  I don't have memories of him being sick, that may be a testament to how well he was doing when we were together.  I knew he wasn't well, but I don't think I ever saw it stop him.  

Wes passed away on Saturday, February 2, 2013.  There's a memorial service being held for him tomorrow, one that I wish I could be there for.  This is as close as I'll be able to get.  

So Wes, Geoff and Pete: I'm thinking of you guys.  And though some might say it's a little weird that my fondest memory is the three of you kicking a corpse's head at a wall all night, we all know it needed doing.