RIP Charles Nolan (even if you never heard of him)

Charles Nolan died last Sunday at age 53. Cancer was eating him up. He and his partner, Andy Tobias, had been friends of
ours for many years, and Charles gave my daughter an internship at a time when it was the last thing he had time for.

Charles took a sabbatical from his work in 2003/4 to work on Howard Dean's presidential campaign, one of the few in his
industry to come out front with his political leanings, and not the sort of thing a guy whose income is completely
dependent on his work can just pick up and do without a second thought. Howard had some nice things to say about Charles
in the New York Times article.

We usually saw each other at a gathering we all attended in South Carolina every New Year. When he and Andy didn't show
this time, we all thought something must be amiss, but we never thought anything this bad.

We had little in common, except that we were both unabashed Democrats--Charles no wonder with DNC Treasurer Andy Tobias
as his partner. Charles was gay, I'm straight. He was big in the fashion industry, something I know exactly zero about.
But he was an engaging, interesting, alive guy. Andy wrote that he was just happy to have been able to spend 16 years
with Charles. To the extent that a straight man can understand, I think I do. Andy is keeping up a great façade, but I
know he must be devastated. I know I would be, were I in his place.

Why do we lose the good ones so early?

;)

:(

K and R