Chris Pappathan
My sincere and heartfelt condolences to all of Andrew's family.
I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew and Bernadine during dinner at Cathy and Mike's home years ago. We engaged in wonderfully entertaining conversation, talking about everything & anything that came to mind. Though I'm sure the food was excellent, I don't remember what we had for dinner. I remember talking with two of the most interesting, incisively intelligent people I've ever met. (I still think Andrew was jotting down notes in a little black notebook he kept in mind, plotting ways to dispose of me in the Merrimack River. It would've been an honor to have been one of his victims.)
Three sentences in Andrew's "No Way Home" have been stuck in my mind since I first read them; "Insects sang, reaffirming the sweetness of life. Lowering his eyes, he sipped his coffee. The gilt around the mouth of the cup was vanishing, as all things do." Three short sentences that say so much.
With Andrew's passing the gilt around the coffee cup mouth remains unworn. It remains intact in his novels, short stories, the memories of family, friends and many fans. The sweetness of life, which a man who lived through many traumas could still see and express so concisely, is a reminder for us all to stop and observe those little things we rush past. I've found those little things accumulate in a way that can far exceed the importance of those "big" events we're so often distracted by in life. Andrew's observation reminds me to slow down and look at the beauty of the people and the world which surrounds me.
I'm thankful for his writing skill, his advice and especially having the opportunity to meet him. He will be sorely missed.
