Goodbye, my friend.

Last night, my dear friend, Dirk, was violently taken from all those who loved him. He was fatally shot in the head and though no arrests have yet been made, all signs point in his girlfriend's direction.

Dirk was an amazing man. Full of a love for life and friends, drink, song, and women, he was Bacchus incarnate. I never saw him without a smile on his face and he never failed to bring one to mine. He embodied all that is good (and, truth be told, all that is perverse) in all of us. As a mutual friend said, he was the "huge heart of our odd little tribe". It's been well over a decade since I last saw him, but my love for him has only grown stronger in the years that have passed. I ache at the thought of never seeing him again. It is times like this that being an atheist is most difficult.

I can't put it into words yet. Not the wonder that Dirk was, nor the pain I feel. All I can say right now is the world is an emptier place for his absence. He was more than a spark, he was a pyre of the fantastic. I will miss him. We all will.

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