The family wanted some time before anyone talked about this, and I held off on this one out of respect for that. Yesterday morning I learned that my friend, author Kevin Candela, passed away the previous night. I'd heard about some of his medical issues, but I thought he'd beaten it all. He's the kind of guy who didn't want to burden others with his own problems, so it came as a surprise to a lot of us when he passed. I still can't believe he's gone.
I've never met him in real life, but it felt like I had. He was on the other side of IL from me, but we talked often about writing and movies we loved. He was the one and only person on this planet who could talk passionately about Quatermass and the Pit. I love the movie, but he brought it to a whole new level. We liked talking about Whedon shows, but oddly the one that most people think of wasn't one of them. It was usually Agents of SHIELD and, sometimes, Firefly. He loved Miracle Workers, and he was looking forward to the new season. I find it hard to believe that he and I won't talk about it when it comes out.
I've shared a lot of TOCs with author friends, but I shared the most with Kevin. Hands down, no contest. We worked together on the Hunter S. Thompson tribute anthologies we did with Kent Hill. We were also in all four volumes of the Straight to Video anthology series. We did the Bukowski book together. And many others. I always kind of wondered what it would be like if he, Kent and I did another HST book. I don't think we'll ever know. It wouldn't feel right to do it without Kevin.
And he was prolific. I thought *I* wrote a lot. Kevin had so many books to his name, it's ridiculous. I'm told that he was working on his final story on his death bed. That's a dedication to one's craft that I don't think even I could match, and I was writing in my hospital room after getting my toes amputated.
I put him in one of the HST stories once. I didn't tell him about it. I wanted him to find out as he read it for editing purposes. He told me after that I'd gotten him down perfect. I think it made him happier than he'd let on. I hope it did.
Here's the thing that gets me. The week before he passed I thought to myself, hey, I haven't heard from Kevin in a while. I should check on him. I'm not sure what happened. I had my phone on me, so I could have easily sent him a message on Facebook, but I didn't do it. I really wish I had. It would have been nice to hear from him one more time before he left us.
I don't believe in the afterlife, but if it exists, I hope he's there already watching the rest of Miracle Workers. Because it is unthinkable that the afterlife doesn't have complete runs of shows, even if they haven't been finished on the mortal coil yet.
Goodnight, Kevin. I miss you already.
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