Farewell Handsome Bear

[kybearfuzz]

I was skimming through Facebook this weekend and came across an entry made by one of my online friends about a handsome bear who had apparently passed away.

I never met Randall in person. I think he was on LJ years ago, but I don't recall his handle on here. We would chat on Bear411 on occasion, but I get the impression that he wasn't interested in chatting with me. We had a lot of friends in common, so I would see his photo pop up on my LJ and FB feeds every so often.

I remember seeing him on other sites too. He was always happy and smiling, usually surrounded by friends. He was a young guy, so I am not sure what happened. I'm not even sure why that is important, but there is always some innate curiosity when someone dies so young. I saw several comments from friends of his on this post talking about his "internal struggle" and the words "prevention" and "awareness" were used, which paints a particular picture in my mind.

When I was drawing the first issue of my comic, I was looking for various bears to put in for background characters. I used Randall as one of them. Being a friend of Miguel's in real life, I thought they would find it funny.



I have no idea if he ever saw it. He never commented on it, and neither did Miguel.

I don't know how to close this entry other than to say I feel for his friends and family.

Comments

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

Very sad.

[maxauburn.livejournal.com]

*HUGS*

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I think a lot about the loss of people we meet online can be so significant when we have never met in person. Implicit in what you've written is how he passed away, which is tragic ... I guess we never really know what's behind the smiles of anyone.

[coryblank.livejournal.com]

Sorry to read of Randall's passing. I didn't know him, but someone likely lost a son, a brother, a friend, and an uncle when he passed. Perhaps Randall can continue to inspire your work posthumously.

HUGS