Dearest Galen, I was trying to find the photo you gave me for Christmas after my spine collapsed in 2005-- your favorite photo of the two of us in San Francisco, March-April 2001. Cldnt find it in dark, then got sick.

I've been thinking about you all the time G.  Everything we shared and went through together. All the times you let me crash in your place in San Fran... the things you shared; a most loving thing you said to me about me. You were my mini- Shirley Emma Little Davis Campbell. (I could 100% always be myself around you and GG; thank you for that gift, G.)

We had so many poignant and great memories.

I finally chose to share today to let you know that Terry Hall passed away. We both loved The Specials since their first release. Two Tone Records was one of the first record cos we both loved.  I remember us both buying THIS ARE TWO TONE in Passaic, NJ, before seeing Yngwie Malmsteen at The Capital Theater. (!!)

When I heard the news 15 minutes ago, I immediately thought of you. My heart sank.  Our love of ska ran deep in our teenage and 20s.

In keeping this relatively short, I chose two memories to share: Me taking you into the city to visit MoMA for your first time--we couldn't contain our joy at seeing Salvador Dali's THE DISAPPEARANCE OF TIME in person.  And our utter dismay at discovering THE DISAPPEARANCE OF TIME was about the size of a piece of notebook paper; not even painted on a canvas, but on canvas board. I taught you about Walter Benjamin's early 1900s essay re: the importance of never creating posters or images larger than an original piece of art.  I loved that we could and often did discuss art and music for hours at a time.

Speaking of music, you brought me to my first concert at  Slim's in SF; iconic little club. One time,  I photographed your favorite band, The Fall, front row, right in front of Mark E. Smith, for a little East Village music rag-- with you by my side. (I think Sean was with us that time!)

I love you and miss you dearly, Galen. It's a shame we didn't get to see each other very often after Sept 2016 because I couldn't walk at all anymore (thanks to hospital misdiagnoses).

Im honored and grateful for all the time we did spend together. Thank you for trusting me with your deepest childhood stories, as I did you, too.

Which brings me to the two of us celebrating your 29th birthday alone in your apartment in San Fran. Hahaha! You tricked me into watching the movie Head, telling me Frank Zappa was in it-- yeah, for less than a minute! That was one of the most boring movies,  yet fun nights of my life. Ahhhh... really? The Monkees? Come on,  G!  The first and last time I ever tried Southern Comfort-- and darn it if it didn't comfort me through that entire movie!! Ahhh...we stayed up most of the night just talking.  You were wise beyond your years. So incredibly intelligent. The breadth of your knowledge never ceased to amaze me.

I love you and will always cherish you, Galen.

You were the most fearless person I ever met. You had a choice to make-- and you chose to rise above and since age 11-- you started carving out and planning the future you wanted for yourself. I'm so proud.  And I'm forever grateful you and Jenny found each other.

My sincerest condolences to Russell, Sean, and Jenny,  and to all of Galen's family and friends,  and family of friends. 

All my love and friendship to you always, G. Such a great man.

❤ DLB

1. My heart is broken. I have cried a river. I miss my Galen. I can’t believe he was taken so prematurely from us.  I remember the first time I met Galen.  My first impression of him was that he was someone extremely polite but very reserved.  Over the course of several years, we got to know him more and so our love for him grew. He was part of our family. Jenny took him to visit our family in the Republic of Panama. He became enamored of the country. My family immediately adopted him as one of ours and he adopted us as well.  He told Jenny, my daughter, that he wanted to one day have a place there.  I will For ever carry the memories we made with him.  We love you Galen to heaven and back.  You were loved and cherished.  We miss you terribly.  We will carry you and our memories of you in our hearts for ever.