Soon it will be a year since my cousin died. He unexpectedly passed away on October 3^rd, 2015. He was only a few days away from his 30th birthday. I was crushed. I have a few things I want to say about him. He was a great person with a dream. He wanted to make art, and he went all in for it. It was fucking beautiful.

Before I met my relatives that lived in Walla Walla, I remember having a conversation with my mom. I was very young so I’ll paraphrase what I think happened. My mom told me that my aunt, uncle, and cousins were coming into town from Washington for some holiday. I didn’t know what or where Washington was yet, so I looked at her and asked something along the lines of “do they speak English?” My mom looked at me and laughed.  She went on to inform me that yes, they did, and that Washington was part of the United States. My geography skills were not solid as a child.

Over the next decade, every time I had the opportunity to see David he was a huge influence on me. He was my older cousin that was the cool kid that I wanted to be. David liked skateboarding, so I liked skateboarding. David was into pop-punk, so I was into pop-punk. He knew about all these cool things I had never heard of. David accidentally left a t shirt at my parents’ house during one of his visits. It was an Ataris t shirt from the End is Forever tour. He had introduced me to the Ataris before, and I had already fallen in love with them.  I told him he’d left it, and he told me to keep it. I wore it for at least 6 years. I wore it until it didn’t really fit anymore. I wore it until there were multiple holes in it. It was my favorite shirt for a long time. Without his influence early in my life I wouldn’t have had the context to make some of the longest lasting friendships I’ve had in my life. I’m very grateful for that.

Life works in a weird way. People go to college, start living their own lives, and you kind of lose touch. You get wrapped up in your day to day, and sometimes that’s all you deal with. Luckily, I got the opportunity to get to know David as an adult. I didn’t get to do if for long enough though. He was a beautiful person. He seemed like he cared about everyone. I’m trying my best to care about everyone I know in a similar way. I traveled a long way, and dealt with a lot of things to get to his memorial service. Talking to his friends, his girlfriend, and the family that we shared was heartbreaking. It was clear that David had a passion for life that rubbed off on a lot of people. He was living his life to a level that most people would be envious of.

From what I could tell, David loved three things in particular: art, the people in his life, and Bud Light Limes. He was the kind of guy who spent twelve (this is a guess, I’m not sure how many Christmas Eve’s it was) straight Christmas Eve’s delivering Christmas cards to everyone he knew in his hometown with a bit of snow he and his friends picked up from behind the ice rink. He was also the kind of guy who did that but didn’t bring it up. I didn’t even know he did it until his friend Pete talked about it at the memorial service. That is a nicer thing than I think I’ve ever done for anyone.

David had one of the weirdest jobs of anyone I’ve ever met. Dave made books, but he didn’t make them the way people make books now. He made books like people made them 300 years ago. All of the type was cast by hand with lead, all of the pages were hand set, each page was put into the press individually, and every single binding was hand sewn. The result was a beautiful work of art. He was in love with the process.

One of my favorite weekends in my life was with David. My friend Mike and I had both recently gotten out of relationships and needed some time away, so I suggested that we go visit my cousin in San Francisco. We flew in and took a pretty long walk to the printing shop Dave was working. He gave us a tour of the business and you could see a spark in his eye. He loved what he did. Later in the weekend he showed us the press in his garage and the type casting equipment he had acquired. He later turned all that equipment into his own printing business. They made some really cool things. I own a print they made. It’s hanging on my wall, and it reminds me of him every day.

San Francisco is one of my favorite cities I’ve ever been to. Now, I’m not sure if I loved the city, or if David was just a really good host. My favorite part of the weekend was seeing the Painted Lady houses from Full House, then buying 40s at the corner store and walking up what seemed like a mountain in a local park. It was raining and I wasn’t dressed for it. I didn’t care. I’m not sure if I’ve ever been happier than I was in that moment. Sitting at the base of a tree, looking out over the city lights, and talking about life with two great people was one of the best things I’ve done in my life. I’m glad I got to live that moment.

I also got to meet David’s girlfriend when I went to San Francisco. She’s a rad girl, and I love her a lot. I only got to spend a little bit of time with her then, and I didn’t see her again until Walla Walla. She’s the best, and I got to see her again at my brother’s wedding. I don’t know how she feels about me, but as far as I’m concerned that girl is family.

A little while after David past, I sent an abridged version of this to his mom and dad. They had some things to add. David was the kid in high school who had a dozen people over every day after school.  He was a natural leader. That showed in his work. He started a company in a mostly dead art-form and he put out a bunch of really cool things. I’d like to think that if he’d had the time he would have dominated the art form.

“Creativity is what we make. Some folk’s creativity comes out of their ability to make music, paint cars, build engines, make lifelong friendships, lead a climbing exposition, or create teams to accomplish things.”
– Bob Johnston (David’s Father)

I guess what I’m trying to say is that David was an incredible person. He lived with passion. I’m glad I got the chance to know him. He made me want to create more. I don’t really know how to do that so I wrote this because I don’t really have a talent creating things outside of words in a stupid Microsoft document. I think I’m going to finish this with a statement directed to the one and only David Johnston.

David, you are a beautiful person. The passion you lived your life with, and the drive you had to pursue your goals was incredible. You were the kind of person that made me consult a thesaurus because the only adjective to describe you that I could think of was beautiful. I’m glad I got to know you, but I’m sad I didn’t know you better. I love you, man. You were so willing to accept and include my friend that moved to San Francisco not knowing a single person who lived there. You didn’t need to do that, but you did it anyway. You made the hell out of some books. You were a great cousin, an even better friend, and I’m sorry we weren’t closer. You touched a lot of lives, and I will never forget you. I’ll never drink or see another Bud light Lime without thinking of you. I’ma make the hell out of some art in your memory, and then keep making it because I think that’s what you would have wanted. I miss you bro.