On Death and Casual Acquaintances

by Jimmy Gibson

1. Jeremy died.

2. Jeremy was born in 1973 with the knowledge that he would die. That is probably why he was crying.

3. Everyone is born with the knowledge that they will die. Some people need to be reminded of this.

4. A doctor once told me that I would not grow to be taller than five feet tall. He was wrong.

5. A doctor once told Jeremy that he had three months left, at most. He was not wrong.

6. That was in 1994. Jeremy was 21 when he died on the same day as Kurt Cobain. Jeremy’s brain cancer was overshadowed by a shotgun blast and a quote by Neil Young. Maybe Jeremy knew this would happen all the way back in 1973. That’s probably why he was crying.

7. How much can truly happen in 21 years? That, of course, depends on who you ask. Don’t ask me, I am still 18 years old, but if I had to venture an educated guess, or at least a guess as educated as I, I would say: “Not much.”

8. Jeremy is not a “real person.” Kurt Cobain is.

9. Riveting stuff, I know

10.