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Oceanside Pier, thirty seconds

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Dan Flynn

John Donne
Meditation 17
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions

"No man is an iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee...."  

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It will be a whiskey day. Dan Flynn passed away this morning. I got the text early from Bill W, his best friend had left this mortal coil somewhere between 6:15 and 6:36 a.m pacific standard. His dad and brothers had fortunately just flown out from his native midwest and were with him in his last hours. As were Bill and Ann.

Dan was a good friend. Sometimes you get to pick your friends off the ideal friend template and sometimes you associate and develop friendships after long periods spent in the same foxhole. The nature of my relationship with Dan was of the latter sort. We fought in many of the same campaigns.

Dan's passing was the quickest I have ever seen. Fine a matter of mere days or maybe weeks ago, then his stomach bothered him, and then we come to find out that it is stage four pancreatic cancer that has already firmly established in his liver. A short timer, as they say in the trade.

He called me and I guess we shared a bit of gallows humour as our sort tends to do. "Beats getting hit by a bus old friend, you get a chance to say goodbye." I tried to give him the benefits of my experience with cancer but there wasn't much I could really say.

Dan is survived by his wife, who was a doctor, many friends and his family. I don't think he had any enemies. He wasn't that type of guy. He had a great hearty laugh that he used liberally. He was one of the titans in the jewelry trade and was known as a square shooter who always gave a square deal, high praise in a pond known for its rapacious predators. Smart as a whip.



Two years ago I met Dan at Valley of Fire in Nevada. I was with BigDave, fresh from his own chemo stint for the lymphoma. It was an amazing day, scampering around the rocks and petroglyphs. Jimi Hendrix's song fire came on the radio in a fortuitous synchronicity as we entered the park. It was a day that all of our collective spirits soared. I am grateful for that very special day we shared.

Dan had an interesting sense of humour, he loved Divine and John Waters, a cocktail, Waikiki, had a great ear and taste for music, I remember a wonderful night at Streetscene watching Cake with Dan, Bill and Leslie. He had a very ordinary palette and I enjoyed taking him to chinese restaurants with Cam and eating weird stuff in front of him that was sure to make him gag. Jellyfish put him over the top every time.

I'm going to miss Dan Flynn. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance sir, I am sorry that you are going to miss the rest of the performance, you played your part excellently and you were loved by many.

11 comments:

RP berkeley said...

Lovely tribute to your friend.

Anonymous said...

Robert,
Beautiful tribute to Dan. I didn't know he was ill and got the text from Bill this morning just as I was leaving the house for a walk in the early morning, very dense, grey, grey fog. Spent quite a while wandering alone in the mist, doing my version of John Donne ... every day counts.
Robert

Anonymous said...

Hi Robert ,

I saw blue heron blast and I was excited to possibly see your blog back.......

The excitement didn't last for long.....

I'm so sorry to here the tragic news, he was a great guy!!

News like this is always a reminder that we all are here for such a short time and the clock keeps ticking.....we can run but we can not hide.

Take good care.....

Jeff

Thank you for getting the info out...

Anonymous said...

What time do you want to have that drink today?

Ken

Blue Heron said...

Now.

Ken Seals said...

I'm sorry for your loss, Robert. Seems an appropriate occasion to revive the Blast for this heartfelt tribute. I wish I could have known him. KS

Anonymous said...

Robert.....
I was so excited to see "the Blast" this morning. The story of Dan Flynn's passing is a sad one, although the quick good-bye and the ability to do such a thing seems comforting to me. Little pain I hope. I loved how you encountered him. Your stories are always so, so good. I had to delve in and read a few others. Dan wouldn't have minded I'm sure. The pastrami and the urologist was a great story and I loved the comments. You are a gem and so is your clan. Love you Robert! Sheebz

Sanoguy said...

Didn't know the man but you certainly paid a nice tribute to him. I can only hope to be remembered in such a fond way.

Sanoguy said...

Didn't know the man but you certainly sent him off in a fine way! Very touching. I am sorry for your loss!

(Ps: looking forward to the return of the Blast!)

Michele M. said...

Dan, a wonderful man, brilliant jeweler, a square shooter, always a smile and twinkle in his eye...
Ever so found of him, he will be so missed by our antique community... as he was the Jewel of all.
Most impressive was his integrity, his love of this business, the smile when he spoke of the islands or a good find and the bright glimmer in his eyes when he spoke of his wife. My heart goes out to Ann, his family, Diana and Bill, and those who were fortunate to have walked in his path.
Michele M.

Unknown said...

Wonderful photos. Condolences to Dan's family & friends.