Evan, gone….

I have never been to a funeral or memorial service.

How did that happen?  Is it my shy and solitary nature?  Or just nobody I know has died?  Maybe a little of both.

A few weeks ago it started bouncing around FB like crazy:  Evan died?

A quick check with another school friend who had moved to LA with Evan and a check of the news confirmed that he had passed away, not even 50, on top of a California mountain near his bike.  The police and coroner reported simply that he had died of injuries consistent with a mountain bike accident.

Evan was such a great friend when I was in middle school and high school.  Neither of us liked school (who did???) but amongst our large circle the 2 of us sought solace in art.  We each had the same wild curly black hair and have both been Peter Pans our whole lives.

My family moved midway through high school and Evan was the one who helped me and my dad move the washer and dryer out of the basement (and a whole lot of other crap) into the truck.  He visited us at our new home, and over the years we kept in touch.

Although neither of us had amazing college careers, we had identical paths at separate schools:  we both studied architecture and ceramics but came to the career fork in the road and said "FUKK architecture! Architects are MEAN!"  and became potters.  The 2 of us really lived parallel lives in many ways.

He landed in LA and had a great gig at a college taking care of the ceramics studio.  He married and had a little boy.  One of the last things he told me was "I don't need much, my family is the most important thing to me" which I could have said.  His Facebook picture was himself smiling at his son as they gardened….

ANYWAY, so the reason I tell you all of this, is that although I have never been to a memorial service or funeral, last night I did in my dreams.  It finished at his parent's house on a very snowy day, all the guys we knew together there….


OK, well, sorry to shift gears, but I had earlier planned something like this:

In other news, you might need something awesome for Mother's Day!  I just added this pitcher, but there are many goodies at my Etsy gallery, click now!