another Lazy Sunday Afternoon

value over volume

Tragic Loss For Gryffindor

I know we have our sarcastic banters and what not, but I do want you to know that I love you.

I woke up to this text message sent from one of my best friends in the morning of July 21st, 2012. If I didn’t know him any better, I would have concluded it was a drunken text sent by him while stumbling out of a bar right after last call—seeing that the text was received at around 2:30 AM Arizona time. But Rowan doesn’t share my joy of occasionally, temporarily turning off my sense of shame. Almost without hesitation, being the asshole that I am, I began texting him back with some poorly constructed joke (punch line being that he was a girl… Like I said a poorly constructed joke) and asking him whether the separation anxiety he has felt since I’ve left for Costa Rica has made him realize his homosexuality. My composition of this lame retort was interrupted by another incoming text. This one came from Kyle and it read:

Holy shit, Teves was in the shooting in Colorado…

Suddenly, Rowan’s text message made sense. He came to the same conclusion that I would reach later today. After I read Kyle’s text in disbelief I quickly got on Facebook to see if there was any more news concerning Teves. I was nervous about what may be awaiting me but I was hopeful to find some good news. My heart pounded as the screen loaded. I think this marks the first time I actually preferred my internet connection to be extremely slow. Alas, life rarely gives you what you want. Then I was overwhelmed by my newsfeed and the stream of wall posts from other friends and acquaintances on Alex Teves’s wall. There I read messages of condolences and messages of grief, messages of shock and messages of pain.  In an instant the conclusion sunk into my head before I could fully appreciate the gravity of the situation: Alex Teves was dead at age 24.

Obviously, I started experiencing a wide range of emotions as one usually does when one goes through shock. Out of everything though, the emotion that I felt the most was guilt; guilt for not thinking about Teves even once when I read about the shooting the day before. I should have known. Teves was in Denver, and being the comic book enthusiast that he is… was, he surely would have been there for the midnight showing. But what are the goddamn odds? I hated myself.

I found myself drifting in and out of the present for the rest of the day. In the middle of every conversation I had, his face kept flashing in my mind. Every time I closed my eyes I could hear his strong infectious laugh. Now, I will not pretend that Teves and I were the closest of friend, but his death has impacted me in ways that can only be fully understood a few years down the road.

I’ve only known him since 2007 and our encounters have usually been pretty sporadic. Whenever we did hang out though, I know we both truly appreciate each other’s company. Teves was a genuinely nice guy and a joy to be with. Funny and full of wit—everything he said was comedic gold. One of the most entertaining conversation I’ve ever had with someone happened to be with Teves. I remember we were arguing what would be the funniest thing to happen to someone and he kept telling me it was someone pooping their pants. I forget what my response was but I do remember I ended up agreeing with him. It wasn’t because he had some compelling arguments but it was more due to the way he said things. He had a gift of bringing humor and laughter to this world which makes it harder to believe that such a magnificent person was lost in such a tragic and trivial manner.

I think for the most of today I was partially in denial. Though it was pretty certain that the Teves we know have perished, a small part of me kept hoping that there was a mistake. That somehow there was a misinformation and that reality Teves was only injured and not dead. This is why I spent the entire day on CNN and Huffington Post waiting for the victims’ names to be released; hoping I would not see his name there.

Now there’s no more denying it. Alex Teves is dead. It is confirmed in all news outlet and we’re all just left with the wonderful memories we have of him. Life can be so cruel sometimes. Here was a guy that loved comic books, and whose favorite superhero was Spider Man, and was the ultimate friend. He was so giving and caring. He was so selfless. It is only befitting that someone so good and who spent his entire life idolizing the idea of heroism, died as a hero by shielding his girlfriend from bullets and saving her life. He is more than you and I will ever be. His death has taught us the greatest lessons: Enjoy life because absolutely nothing is guaranteed, read comic books once in a while, listen to The Who, root for UA basketball, never take anyone for granted, always have a pillow with you (inside joke), be a fucking decent human being, and always, always find the lighter side of things; especially when it concerns someone pooping their pants.

  1. trestte reblogged this from anotherlazysundayafternoon and added:
    “You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave of heart, Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors...
  2. allinthesamespot reblogged this from montrealism and added:
    Tears everywhere. I’m speechless.
  3. montrealism reblogged this from anotherlazysundayafternoon and added:
    we have become so disconnected to what the loss of human life entails, and the recent events in aurora, colorado are a...
  4. telecinebibliophile reblogged this from nitramaraho
  5. nitramaraho reblogged this from anotherlazysundayafternoon and added:
    Reblogging just for the last paragraph. What a well written post.
  6. anotherlazysundayafternoon posted this