Remembering Kurt
By David Bania
Today is the day that Kurt left.
I honestly feel quite empty now that I know he is gone.
Last week we all got together and went to the magical Panther Beach after visiting the beloved Beer THIRTY and before having delicious dinner.
So that is still ringing to be as if it just happened.
The day started out beautiful and sunny at around 4:30 p.m. when I showed up.
The fire outside in the pizza oven was burning hot, I had just come into contact with his hair-burning endeavors.
He was in quite a bummed state about that on top of the weight of knowing it was his last day.
But all of us ate in happiness even though the oven completely burned our pizza within seconds, not minutes, and so did the house oven after we gave up waiting for the pizza oven to cool down.
On top of that the cookies burned on a day where Bernie Sanders came burnin’ into town unexpectedly and surprisingly.
This last day, Kurt was relieved that the chickens got better from sickness as he fed them one last time.
We all could see he cared for them deeply. He thought it funny how a small unintelligent bird can become your best friend.
After that we had our weekly OpenMic night upon which Steve shared the story of his ending, I shared my ending to one of my stories and Kurt got to have me act with him, reading his short play, which I found genuinely exhilarating.
Toward the end of OpenMic, I looked behind me through the windows and saw a battalion of fog rushing in to blanket the horizon.
When night set in an hour later, the two fused elements of pitch dark fog created a rush of eeriness, like no world lay beyond our little pavilion playing circle nested adjacent to the redwood jungle.
The night ended with Kurt winning our multi-week gin-rummy card spree, by leaps and bounds.
Kurt is one of those people you will remember and refer to many times in your life through internal dialogue and replays of unforgettable scenes.
The thing about traveling, living and meeting people is getting used to saying goodbye, although it’s never easy or the same.
I let Kurt know that he is a compassionate soul and asked if he truly felt excited about where he is about to go.
I asked this question even after having witnessed him casting doubt about his departure weeks prior with the temptation of staying in paradise.
“Yes, this place is wondrous and enchanting,”he replied, “but for now it has served me well.”
And so he was set. I know from observing the progression of his stay here that he grew so much through his work and his time spent enjoying the Wellstone Center.
I love that the experience could affect another person as deeply as it has me, and I wish Kurt the best of journeys.