I know this is late, but I just found out...
Kevin was the
kindest friend I've ever had. I knew Kevin in Seattle when I lived there in 2004-2007. To be honest I'm not sure when we first met. We hadn't been in touch in way too long.
Some memories that stand out exploring and non exploring:
*We'd go exploring together, and I
ALWAYS felt safe no matter where we went.
I knew he had my back no matter what. Kevin gave me his respirator, so I would stop having asthma attacks when I went exploring. I still have it...I'm still amazed at the number of places I managed to get us permission to go to. He cared about the history of places as much as I do.
*Kevin had a way of making you feel comfortable. He could also call me out when I needed that, but always out of kindness - even if I didn't want to hear it - He knew he had to speak his mind. I should've listened to him more.
He had an amazing ability to judge the character of a person. He knew who to trust and who not to trust. He was always right about that - I just didn't always listen.
*My car was starting slowly and needed a new battery. The place I took it to was trying to rip me off in telling me the connections were too corroded by the leaking battery acid, so I needed to spend like $200 on new connections (in addition to their inflated battery price). I got a battery. He spent almost an hour to get rid of the caked on acid so he could pop out and put in the new battery. The whole time I'm pacing worrying he's going to shock himself or get burned by the battery acid.
*We went canoeing across Lake Washington together. We were tired and he wanted to take a peek at the floating bridge, so we paddled to the bridge. Before we knew it guns were pointing at us from a police boat. The police yelled for us to put our hands up and asked us why we were holding onto the bridge. We played dumb even though we were next to a giant sign that said to keep back 25 or 50 feet from the bridge and said we were taking a break. We went across the lake and landed in what we thought was a park. We got out to take a break, but were quickly approached by some very unwelcoming dogs. We bolted back to the canoe. On our way back, I asked how far he thought we'd canoed. He said he'd figured it out. The next day he sent me the email below.
If he said he'd do something he did it. He scanned a strangely large old book I took out of the UW Library all about how to design/build a state hospital on a special scanner at work because he knew how much I loved it.
*He wasn't big on texting, so we'd email each other during the day when we were at work. I'm glad I still have most of them.
They're snapshots in time. We fell out of touch, and I had been trying to reconnect. I didn't think of trying to message him on here until late last night. I'm grateful to have had him in my life.
I wish I could've been a better friend to him in recent years. My heart aches to know he was in so much pain. 1.
Canoe Trip Email Screenshot
2.
The Good Old Flour Mill Rooftop with Jace
3.
He Had No Fear...I have no idea where this was in WA - I think it was a school?