Crystal died on February 24th, 2015. She went into the hospital about a week before, after living with chronic health issues for quite some time. This time was different than times before. This time she didn’t defy the expectations of everyone involved and walk out of the hospital several days later to pick up where she left off. I’m having a hard time believing it’s real.
Quite literally, her and her husband, Danny, made a home in Arizona a bunch of years ago — one of the only things I think she was outwardly fiercely proud of, despite having so much more to be proud of. You might know her as a Philly person, or a traveller, or even the New Jersey native she was. Despite her and myself living in New Orleans at the same time and hanging out a lot, our friendship really grew after the times that we were able to hang out in a living room or at the dog park together — when I moved to Calgary and she moved to Maine. I can only guess at how many hours we spent on the phone. No I can’t. Not even close, I’m sure. I made a trip down to see her, and all that she’d accomplished in Bisbee in 2010. It was her birthday. September. In the photo of us she looks a hell of a lot less impressed than I do to be together in-the-flesh after so many years, but I don’t care. It’s the photo I have (I think possibly the only one of us together) and a photo I’m sharing on this page that I hate having to make.
I feel lucky to have a couple people I consider “best friends”. Each one gives me a unique perspective on life and plays a really important part in helping me navigate this world. I now have a huge gaping hole in the Crystal spot, and I know I’m not going to ever have another like her. I’m going to miss her continuing perspectives more than even I think I know, and I’m still missing her. The only person who will understand my grieving process for her is her, and it sucks that I can’t talk to her right now instead of making this stupid page. Everyone does it differently, but my thoughts go out to Danny, her immediate family, her Bisbee family, and her family of friends who knew her and loved her as much as myself.
Collected here are some photos I took when I visited Crystal and Danny in Bisbee in 2010. I’m sure I have more to share, and will update into the future as I recover stuff. A start for now.
