In memory of John Pedone
A good friend of mine passed away in a motorcycle accident. I’ve been avoiding it, not wanting to process what that really means. I wanted to believe he’d show up and tell us all to shut the fuck up; they got the wrong John, even though I knew the truth of it.
John could be a very selfish man, in the way we all are. The most important thing to to him was what he wanted. If you wanted the same thing, even better. He’d do it with you.
In that same container of flesh and bones, the vessel carrying the essence of John Pedone, there was more—an energy, a vibrance—that hooked you and pulled you in. You never really knew how much he cared for you. Until you did. When he showed you in the most unexpected and beautiful ways.
He brought us a celtic decorative plaque one day for no other reason than he saw it and thought of us. He wanted us to have it.
When we told everyone we wanted to hang artwork by our friends on the walls of our home, he was the first one to bring a photo from his trip to Europe, painstakingly going through his photos and deciding what would be good enough for us. Excited to be the first and proud to be a part of our collection, to hang next to everyone we care about.
He never had an excuse to not show up to any gathering we held at our house.
He turned up on our doorstep just to say hi.
He’d make me mad, one frustrating occasion after another, but it was always a John kind of mad, the kind of mad you knew was irritating but utterly and exasperatingly expected from him and anything less would’ve actually been a disappointment if you thought too hard on it.
I remember going to his apartment after his neck surgery and just hanging out with him, bringing him food and keeping him company while he was laid up. He told us how much he appreciated us visiting. I remember knowing exactly how much he meant it.
He was my friend. I will always want to have more just like him but won’t because there is no one else so perfectly John. He is the bar every future friend will have to meet.
He lived life exactly as he wanted, with zest and pizzazz, jumping naked out of airplanes with a chafing parachute harness over a crowd of people at Burning Man. John Pedone was selfish in the most selfless way I’ve ever known. When it’s my time, I only hope to be remembered as being as selfish as I remember him.
I love you, John. I’ll miss you dearly.
Please donate to The Danger Fund, a collection for his family.
John’s viewing service (May 14th, 2012) and a celebration of life (May 18th, 2012).
Links to goodbyes from those that loved John. If you have a link you want to share, please add in the comments.
A video posted by Matt Welch
LA City Council adjourning in memory of John.
Dave Raphael’s heartfelt post. For as long as we’ve known John, we’re surprised we’ve never met him. It’s a beautiful post, Dave. Thank you for sharing.
John Pedone’s Facebook page
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