If you know me, odds are you know that I’m a big Kevin Smith fan. Dogma has been one of my favorite movies for a long time. I’ve recently started listening to some of his podcasts (again) including one he does called Hollywood Babble On with Ralph Garman, which I find to be quite entertaining. They have a number of recurring segments, including one where they discuss those in show business who have died since the last podcast. The most recent episode includes Alan Rickman.
You might know that Kevin directed Rickman in Dogma. You might not know that the two developed a very real friendship after that, so it should come as no surprise that Kevin was hit really hard by Rickman’s passing. Kevin went on about how lucky he was to work with a world class actor, but more importantly, how much he regretted never really expressing how grateful he was to be able to count Rickman as a friend. It was truly an emotional outpouring that moved me, and it's what inspired this post.
I am not an easy man with whom to get along, and I know it. Even still, I have been lucky enough to have relationships with a few people whom I consider to be world class at what they do. I won’t name them here, but I plan to contact them individually. Some are closer than others, but all of them are better at what they do than I will ever be at anything, and while that can be painful for me, they have been kind and influential on my life in one way or another. For that, I am eternally grateful, and I offer my most sincere thanks. I love each one of them, even if I lack the courage to say so, or perhaps recognize that doing so might be awkward. Perhaps both.
Thank you, and I love you, or at least what you have been kind enough to do for me.