We lost Kirsten this year, but the world is a better place because she lived, although 51 years does not feel long enough.
I honestly don’t know a whole lot about Kirsten Tynan, and I never met her in person. Things I do know include that she was a champion of “Wildflower Man,” a short story I wrote in 1996 and the only short story I have ever written that is good enough to have a champion. It is my “The Lake,” the story that made Ray Bradbury cry because he knew he had finally written something worthy after years of trying.
I know Kirsten loved the Monkees and idolized singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, another soul who died too young of cancer.
And I know she was a fierce champion of jury nullification, the understanding that juries have the right to find a defendant not guilty if the underlying law is unjust, as it often can be. She went so far as to serve the Fully Informed Jury Association for 15 years and run it for a decade.
On Sunday, I met a man who is 16 years older than I am but has kept himself so fit that he looks at least 5 years younger than I do. During the course of the conversation, I learned his wife has been waging a good fight for 25 years on and off with lymphoma, the same horrid disease that claimed my beloved Red in less than six months. He coaxed some details about Red’s journey out of me, but I found myself thinking, “Enough about me, how can I encourage this man and his wife in their battle?”
I know I cherish each memory shared with Red like a precious diamond, and so as we parted I said to him, “In the words of Warren Zevon, savor every sandwich,” a quote from Zevon’s last interview with David Letterman, when the TV host asked if he now knows something about life and death that the rest of us don’t know.
Actually, I misquoted Zevon — it’s “enjoy every sandwich” — but the sentiment is a great one. We have a finite amount of time on this plane of existence, and a finite amount of time with loved ones, so we should savor every moment.
That was something I learned from Kirsten, and I’m glad I was able to pass it on.
