What a shock to learn, the day after the parade, that my friend Eric died suddenly of a heart attack while on a writing sabbatical in Provincetown. My mentor and the person who encouraged me to keep involved with Pride, running parades as I have for nearly 25 years now. The man who saw the activist in me and nurtured it, bringing me to the table of united groups in Boston and international organizations at conferences in LA, until I finally founded a national organization myself (now international as well and in continuous operation for 24 years).
He was a big bear of a man that seldom had an ugly word to say about anyone, always had love for more people than you could possibly imagine, and made everyone feel important -- not only to him but to themselves. If any testimony of this is true, it's in the 500 people who made it to his memorial service yesterday, here in San Francisco, and the similar numbers that will likely show up at the Boston and New York services in the coming weeks.
Eric Rofes was an important writer, without needing to be a bestseller. His tomes contain some very pointed and poignant information. His writings are well respected. Damn if I don't owe him a book of my own, as he supported many to create, even if it's fictional trash.
I'll miss Eric... a lot.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
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