I woke up this morning to a text from my dear friend Drewski.
It was one of those messages I have to reread just to make sure I’m understanding what I’m reading. The kind that catches your breath and makes time stand still.
Drewski had just learned that a friend he introduced me to not long after I moved to Los Angeles, Pete, had passed away.
I don’t think Drewski expected me to remember Pete. Maybe he thought it was just a fleeting afternoon from years ago, one of those moments that quietly fade with time. But Pete was the kind of guy who made quite an impression. Full of heart and smarts.
Even though we only spent a single day together, Pete’s presence lingered far longer than the few hours we shared together.
Isn’t it something how certain people just land in your life like a feather, soft and subtle, yet leave behind a memory full of weight and meaning?
Pete was not just some guy. He had that rare, unmistakable quality, a kind of energy that stays with you. Maybe it was the way he truly listened. Maybe it was how his laughter made you feel instantly included. Or maybe it was simply his kindness, offered freely and without agenda, in a city where that can feel rare. He touched my heart, and he probably never even knew it.
His passing has me thinking about the power of connection, the quiet and unexpected ways we leave marks on each other.
Even though I know better, I sometimes fall into the trap of believing that relationships have to be long to be meaningful, that years are what measure depth. But that is not always true. Sometimes one conversation, one shared moment, one perfectly ordinary day becomes unforgettable.
That is the silver lining Pete’s passing leaves me with: a reminder that presence matters more than permanence.
Another silver lining is my friendship with Drewski, my birthday twin and fellow Leo. Drewski has been cheering me on and putting up with my bullshit since 1995.
Not only does he know where all the bodies are buried, Drewski is the kind of friend who naturally weaves people together, building bridges without even realizing the lasting impact of those connections he helps create. I can’t imagine my life without him and his beautiful, generous, kind soul…or his appetite for Korean BBQ. 😘😜
The truth is we never really know how deeply the impressions we leave might matter. Whether we pass through someone’s life for only a few minutes or for decades, we each have the power to plant joy, offer comfort, or spark a memory that carries them through a difficult or tender moment down the road.
So today I am holding onto that. I am holding onto gratitude for a brief and beautiful encounter with someone who left this world too soon, and for the friend who unknowingly gave me that gift.
Here’s to the friends who touch our hearts and the ones who introduce us to them.
Here’s to impressions that live on quietly, powerfully, forever.
Thank you for being a friend!
Clint 🌈✌️
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FYC = FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
ON THIS DAY = SEPTEMBER 30
BIRTHDAYS
1207 = Rumi = Persian mystic and poet
1913 = Bill Walsh = American screenwriter and producer
1921 = Deborah Kerr = Scottish-English actor
1924 = Truman Capote = American writer 🌈
1928 = Elie Wiesel = Romanian-American author, academic, and activist
1931 = Angie Dickinson = American actor
1933 = Cissy Houston = American singer
1935 = Johnny Mathis = American singer 🌈
1943 = Marilyn McCoo = American singer, actor, and tv host
1947 = Marc Bolan = English singer-songwriter 🌈
1950 = Laura Esquivel = Mexican author and screenwriter
1954 = Barry Williams = American actor
1957 = Fran Drescher = American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1958 = Marty Stuart = American singer-songwriter
1961 = Crystal Bernard = American actor and singer-songwriter
1961 = Eric Stoltz = American actor, director, and producer
1964 = Monica Bellucci = Italian actor and fashion model
1970 = Tony Hale = American actor and producer
1971 = Jenna Elfman = American actor and producer
1975 = Marion Cotillard = French actor and singer
1982 = Kieran Culkin = American actor
1984 = T-Pain = American rapper, producer, and actor
1992 = Ezra Miller = American actor and singer 🌈
EVENTS
1791 = The first performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute takes place two months before his death.
1882 = Thomas Edison‘s first commercial hydroelectric power plant (later known as Appleton Edison Light Company) begins operation.
1935 = The Hoover Dam, astride the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada, is dedicated.
1939 = NBC broadcasts the first televised American football game.
1947 = The 1947 World Series begins. It is the first to be televised, to include an African-American player, to exceed $2 million in receipts, to see a pinch-hit home run, and to have six umpires on the field.
1958 = The Rifleman premieres on ABC.
1960 = The Flintstones premieres on ABC.
1980 = Ethernet specifications are published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation.
1982 = Cheers premieres on NBC.
1984 = Murder, She Wrote premieres on CBS.
1988 = Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is released in theaters.
2016 = Two paintings with a combined value of $100 million are recovered after having been stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in 2002.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)
PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Friendship is a pretty full-time occupation if you really are friendly with somebody. You can’t have too many friends because then you’re just not really friends.”
Truman Capote
A beautiful truth, as some people do enter your field of existence for a few minutes and their presence is felt ever more! Thank You, Clint!!
Thanks for sharing such a nice sentiment. The underlying emotional significance of your words about connections cannot be emphasized enough.