A couple weeks ago those of us in the Cheap Trick fan community woke to very sad news – we'd lost one of our own: Kevin Kelly, AKA: Bunezuela.
I won't go into his alias as it relates to Cheap Trick trivia and while I could go on and on about my favorite band, that's not the point of this blog.
The point is that Bunz was a great guy – well known to anyone who frequented the CT.com bulletin board. He had great stories from "back in the day" and he a legendary sense of humor. He should've come out with his own line of computer screen cleaner for all those times one of his quips led to the unintentional spraying of one's beverage of choice. More than one of us considered it no greater compliment than to get a laugh out of Bunz.
Many CT fans never met Kevin but they felt as though they knew him, thanks to the little online community of ours. Most had no inkling of his struggle with cancer – so when he passed away there was a lot of shock and dismay.
In the midst of this sorrowful news, his wife Susan gave all of us a wonderful gift: the story of Kevin's last few years with us. She didn't have to share this information – although I speak for many of us when I say that thanks to her story, Kevin continues to give even though he's no longer with us…
The heart of her posts covered the manner in which he chose to live his life and fight the disease. Through education, discipline and will he managed to take charge of his treatment and truly live his life the way he saw fit. He even managed to carve out an area of his personal life where it wasn't about cancer. Susan's description of his final day made me weep (hell, it STILL does) and all the while, I can't help but be so happy for him because from the sound of things, he went out the way he wanted. I really hope that when it's my time that I'm so lucky.
Although I hate that it takes the loss of a friend to remind me what really matters, I'll be forever grateful to Kevin for all that he's given me – and so many others in our lil' CT circle. I'm trying to take charge of my health in the same way… Eating better, exercising more. (In fact, I've taken up swimming 3 times a week. I like to think that Bunz has a good laugh at my goofy swim cap and quotes the famous SNL synchronized swimming sketch as I'm doing those laps. I can't swim! LOL!)
Like swimming, I'm trying to get back to those things that make me happy. One of those is writing… So keep you eye out for some blogs that I've been meaning to post this year…
Thank you Susan. And most especially, thank you Kevin.
RIP and I'll see you on the other side.