Some Losses

Sometimes the holidays can seem a little dark. Maybe it's the long nights catching up to all of us, but I think it has more to do with the contrasts. We put such great pressure on these days to be so bright and perfect that the regular blemishes of our lives stand out even more.


As a result, the genuine losses can seem so much deeper and more painful in this context. I am lucky, this year as always, that I've been given a respite from such pains, that I'm surrounded by so much. It seems worth mentioning the inspirations I've lost, along with the rest of the world, in the past few days. More importantly, it's worth remembering the brightness each life carries, so that we can use it to keep ourselves warm in the cold places.


Christopher Hitchens was a man who could enrage me and entertain me, often at the same time. The Web is crawling with eulogies from those who knew him and those who didn't. (In Hitchens' spirit of argument, I offer one from his friend Christopher Buckley, and one from his former friend Alexander Cockburn.) I can only say I am sad that I will never again get to read a new Hitchens piece.  He was one of the best writers we had.



While Hitchens was a great writer, Vaclav Havel truly changed the world. He proved that a man could win against the grinding and crushing gears of a totalitarian regime armed with little more than grace and poetry. When everyone my age wanted to go to Prague, this was the guy we wanted to be. I have this same dog-eared copy of Esquire, and I read it from time to time when I need advice. Havel's is especially powerful: "Never hope against hope."


Joe Simon helped create Captain America. 'Nuff said.



And Eduardo Barreto, a great artist who drew the hell out of a lot of comics, passed last week as well.


I didn't know any of these men. But I will miss them all.

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on December 19, 2011 10:34
No comments have been added yet.