You know, we all knew that this day would eventually come, even thought we ignored it's possibility and didn't want to face it. We've lost so many of our beloved DS people over the past many decades - Joan Bennett, Thayer David, Grayson Hall, et. al. - and grieved. But with passing of Mr. Frid, it has truly hit home, at least for me. It feels that with him now gone, so is DS. I know it's not true, but that's how I feel. I keep thinking about him and all that he meant since he became the face of DS. he brought so much joy and wonderment to so many of us who grew up watching the show. All I want to do is talk him, his passing, and the show, and I have done a bit of that with friends who are trying to understand, but I know it's something beyond their comprehension, so I keep it to myself. For the most part, I mourn alone. I know the pain and grief will pass. I just wonder how I will react when I see the movie and especially to see him in it, and remembering what Johnny Depp said when he met him (paraphrasing): "If it wasn't for you, none of us would be here right now." Well, many of us who identified with him wouldn't be here right now without what he did. He gave us, in his portrayal, hope when we felt hopeless. I need to focus on the fact that our DS is not dead and gone. The fact that this movie is coming out is proof of that. And our beloved Mr. Frid may be gone, but his memory, like the love tens-of-millions developed for the show (leading to this film), will always be with us. Including me. I know that's true, but right now, in my grief, I have to allow my feelings of a world of mine swept away to play out.
We will always love you, Jonathan Frid. I hope you, during your life, had known how much you meant to us and how you kept us feeling that life is precious.
Gerard
