Sequential Awesome

I never met Mike. Never had any interaction with him other than watching the ‘A Comic Show’ YouTube videos posted on Bleeding Cool. I never got the shop he worked at, the store isn’t really my speed or cuppa, so I never had the opportunity to get to meet or know him. Now, I’ll never have that chance.

The outpouring of love for him from our little Nerd community here in Orlando has been nothing short of spectacular. Mike, from what I’ve read, simply loved and lived the culture.  He was a fan of comics. Loved Firefly and Buffy. Dug the hell out of video games (hence the name, natch). Enjoyed great music. In short, he was one of us. A guy who lived life with a smile on his face, a Brony shirt on his chest, and a love of all things geek in his heart.

It kills me to see one of my very best friends having to struggle with losing him. It rips me up knowing there’s nothing I can do short of offering my condolences and a shoulder should he need it. And it’s especially disheartening to know that it’s not just him that this is effecting, but literally hundreds of people across Orlando who interacted with Mike on a weekly basis, either through picking up their books, hanging at the Geek Easy, or listening to him on the Nerdy Show. 

To lose someone so positive in such a typically jaded and overtly negative sub-culture is a blow. It’s a shock to the system and one that, I hope, will be filled by someone else, perhaps inspired by the way Mike embraced the culture and the people who filled that culture with all their nuances and interests. I’d like to think that we’re all able to do that, in one way or another.

So, on this night, after being able to collect my thoughts, I can honestly say I’m sorry I never took the time to get over myself - here’s that negative I referred to earlier - and go into the shop he worked at to meet him. Knowing how much he was respected and loved by one of my closest friends makes me realize that it was folly not to.

You’ll be missed, Mike. But right now, you’re somewhere on the plains of Hyrule, and that world is better for having you in it.

- Jay