Monday, October 27, 2008

Farewell to a Friend

Damn. Damn, damn, damn.

I had been preparing for this news for a little while, since hearing the grim news about Dean Barnett's condition from Hugh Hewitt's producer Duane last week. But somehow I still thought Dean was going to surprise us all and pull through. He had done it before. Despite knowing the grim prognosis for the past week, I'm still stunned. He had written about his thick-as-chowdah Boston accent, but the first time I heard him when he was guest-hosting Hugh's show, I joked that I was going to need a translator. That could not have been that long ago... Dean was funny, and insightful, and witty, and even though we never crossed paths in person, it was easy to feel like you knew him. So much about him suggested he was one of those good guys the world needs more of.

He had made us laugh and made us think so many times since he started blogging back in 2004, that when he recently reentered the hospital, there was a palpable absence in the conversation about the campaign. I had already started to miss reading his take on the latest twists and turns of the campaign, and I don't think it's going to get any easier.

RIP, Dean. We are going to miss you something fierce.

UPDATE: I went back and checked. August. August, Dean was talking to me and other guests on the program as if nothing was wrong. Life can change so quickly, and so cruelly, sometimes.

Even more recently, at the end of September he and I exchanged e-mails laughing about something.

10/27 04:13 PMShare