swartz = sports

my dear friend chrissy's dad, charles, passed on wednesday.
when real things happen, it seems like a fucking idiotic thing to blog about them. blogging? come on. it's fun, but grieving over the internet is a little too gen x - or maybe gen y - for me.

however, to not acknowledge it seems a tragedy, so it must be said. this family, the swartzes, have a lot of parallels to my own. old school itals, most of which were rooted in grandview, stuck in catholic conservatism but still with hearts wide open. chrissy came out to her family i don't remember when, but long after she knew, due to fear and worry. her fam, after some notable struggle, supported her at her wedding to her partner tracy not long ago. it was a beautiful, super amazing moment.

mr. swartz, by far, was the sportiest man you'd ever have met. at our high school, he was a constant at games, always smiling and nearly always around. he always supported his boys and 2 girls by running drills with them in the back yard and shooting hoops, and later on, video taping nearly every one of Chrissy's Ohio Wesleyan Lacrosse games in college. this guy loved his family and lived for sportin'. his sportin' with the fam was a sure sign of his adoration. because of this, it's also sad that anyone can pass away due to fucking stupid cancer that was so young, vibrant, and active. no one is safe, i suppose, and that's the only thing that even resonates.

because i know chrissy and tracy read this, i don't want to get too dramatic or say anything that isn't my story to say. all i can say, chrissy, is that your dad loved you very much. you know. god willing, i'm getting home for you this weekend. you were there for mine, and i'll be there for yours.

i love.