Hunter

Election Day before the returns come in tonight I am going to take a moment to reflect on a loss I and a lot of other people suffered last month. My friend Hunter took his own life in April. That's his pic - looking peaceful. He was 29 years old. Meth addiction - that's all I will say about that, except I pray often that all meth addicts find a way out of that particular addiction. The help is out there, please get it. And I never go spiritual on this blog but today I am: In God's mind gay men and woman are equal partners with everyone else on this planet. Equally beloved, equally saved, equally responsible.

I don't "think" this or "believe" this - I know it. In my bone marrow. Societal thinking to the contrary is wrong, destructive and diseased.
The Baby Dragon Fund has been set up to combat Meth Addiction - especially in gay youth. Give if you can.



I am putting this small tribute to Hunter on L.R. because I loved him and he was one of my political buddies. That is to say - the primary focus of our chats and the time we spent together was talking politics. We did talk about other stuff over the years but his passions, like mine, were often about the game, sport, and machinations of politics. Hunter worked for Howard Dean's campaign in 2004 and I spoke to him nearly every day while he was in Iowa and elsewhere. On election night in 2000 we were all at a friend's house in LA watching the returns - over the moon when Florida was called for Gore - then livid when things turned. For the next month of the recount shenanigans - Hunter and I talked every day. Those of us who love this kind of chatter know this kind of talk well. It really doesn't matter if anything new has happened. We can rehash and pace around and repeat ourselves looking at every angle of every moment of a campaign. It is one of my, and was one of Hunter's, favorite wastes of time. There are a lot of us types - but few with the smarts and earnestness of Hunter. He was untainted by the faux cynicism so in vogue in the 2000's. And, I know from friends who had seen him more recently, he had no patience for the faux hope so in vogue in 2008.

Hunter and I had not talked much about this election. He was off wrestling other demons and life moved me farther away from his circle. But we would have talked, I am sure of it. I know we were of similar minds about how the primary season was working out. And Hunter would not have stayed away for long. I am going to miss him a lot as the year unfolds. Even as this day unfolds.

Despite the pollution of the fundamentalists: the basic teaching of my religion is this: "Life Goes On". One can argue about Christian theology forever - but "Life Goes On" is the take away...

I know Hunter has gone on. I am just damn sad he's not here anymore. Here's to you, Hunter. You will be missed.
and missed.
and missed.

Labels: election, Hunter

posted by John: south of Melrose at Tuesday, May 06, 2008 PERMALINK