The Stupidest Genius There Ever Was
So, I had this friend in college. Certifiable genius. The man was a piano prodigy who apparently played the piano in a concert with Yoyo Ma when he was 14 (...my friend, not Yoyo Ma). He got into Cal at age 16, and dropped out by age 19 because "he wasn't learning anything." He could do anything... music, computers, athletics. It all came naturally to him.
But he was obsessed with "having fun." Despite being a hardcore raver in college, after leaving, he said that he "really wanted to party because of all the fun he missed out on while in school." He never settled down anywhere and when he wasn't working, he was out getting toasted on whatever cocktails he could throw together. He was talking about buying a boat to live on so he could simply go from port to port and find work and travel and whatever.
Well, the party ended on September 19th, 2005. He was found dead by a friend after they had shot up black tar heroin. The rest of us just found out today. He was a good friend, but I'm having a hard time mourning. I can't get past the feeling of disappointment and anger. All that talent... all that potential, wasted. He was a total dweeb, but I loved the guy. He was a friend.
I hope it was worth it, Hiroshi.
7 Comments:
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8:34 PM
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8:34 PM
A terrible loss... :(
11:14 PM
I'm sorry to hear about your friend. It reminds me of something my high school guidance counselor (member of MENSA) once told me:
"The greater the intellect, the greater the need for recreation."
I'm not sure if that's his, or something he heard or read somewhere, but I've always thought it made sense.
5:23 AM
Such a shame.
:(
8:19 AM
Aigh. I hadn't made the connection between who you were talking about, until you put the name with the subject. Gah. I mean, it doesn't make it any more terrible, but it does "connect" it a little more for me. I've known a couple people who have died doing things I think were completely, totally idiotic - where their deaths were their own damn fault.
It's hard, even if they were people I liked immensely, becuase there is a sense of, "Well, you knew what you were getting into, and you screwed up. Your own damn fault." Which discounts potentially a lot of their feelings, or the potential for circumstances I just wasn't aware of - but I definitely had the sense of, "I should feel sad, and I sort of do, but I also sort of don't." I was never really sure *what* to feel...
10:18 AM
Oh, I forgot to mention in the post, but it's the same guy I mentioned in my previous entry "Hurling and Hoochies."
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10:47 AM
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