Goodbye, Craig

It seems like I just did this for Tina , but I got the call today, about Craig. I’m starting a week in San Francisco, working from Creative Commons’ offices here for the week. I was in the shuttle on the way from the airport to my hotel, when I checked voicemail.

Hey Nate, it’s Curtis, and I don’t have good news. Craig died in New York City last night while visiting his brother. Give me a call back, or I’ll call you when I hear about arrangements. Craig was more than a friend, he was my brother. We were both members of the Alpha Beta chapter of Delta Lambda Phi at Purdue University. Someone once described him as “the most socially retarded person alive”, and that’s not far from the truth. But we loved him for it, and he was always willing to laugh at himself. I think there are lots of cliches about being able to laugh at yourself; I’ll only say that in the gay community, some guys have a tendancy to take themselves more than a bit too seriously. Craig was never one of those guys, and it made his friendship all the more enjoyable.

Craig, Curtis, Michelle and I would watch MST3K together, and then repeat lines to one another for weeks in that way people who aren’t in on the joke find particularly annoying. Craig was always ready with a “you can’t cash a check at this window, sir!” or “math is hard!” and no matter how many times it was repeated, we always laughed. Craig was 28, and will be massively missed by his friends and brothers.