goodbye to a friend

today was the memorial for a friend of mine who recently passed away. his name was KC Murphy, and i originally met him while he was working at the mock crest tavern, just up the road from me. i often go into the tavern for their good breakfast food, coffee with free refills, and free wi-fi, which is always nice for a freelancer like me. anyhow, KC was usually working there almost every morning up until a few months ago when he had to quit due to health complications.

he was a good bartender, could cook up a great breakfast, and i enjoyed our conversations, not to mention seeing him play blues with his band there at the tavern a couple times. when i took this picture, i was working on a collection of portraits for a project i was trying to get off the ground, and he was gracious enough to let me take this photo one day in the bar. after i took the photo, i gave him an enlarged copy for his own use, and had mostly forgotten about the photo. at the time, i had no idea he would only be with us a few months longer.

the memorial today was held at the tavern, and i was able to meet some of his friends and family. there were lots of memories shared, the food was good, and some of his band mates played a blues tribute set. when i arrived, i was pleasantly surprised to see that they had framed the photo print i had given him, and used it as the cover image for a CD of his music. many people commented on the photo, and i think it connected with many of us because that’s how we remember him - always with a friendly look, and usually sitting at the end of the bar on his usual perch.

anyhow, i was also very happy to see a very crowded bar at the memorial today.
KC will definitely be missed.
-h

Filed under: Images, Thoughts by stephen h @ 11:37 pm on October 18, 2008
TAGS: [black & white | Images | KC Murphy | photography | stephen h]