…as everyone’s death diminishes me; John Caspell more than most because he was part of my extended family. When my daughter and John’s brother Paul joined, I acquired Paul’s whole family to include in mine, and that made John my kin too. I see now from reading the condolences from his friends in music that I knew him hardly at all.
Learning of his accident from my daughter I went to see him on Monday. We talked – about the accident, yes, but also about science fiction. He was running out of reading material and bordeom threatened. My collection is thin when it comes to contemporary science fiction but we settled on Philip K Dick and on Tuesday I took him most of my Dick shelf; he chose to keep about half, all re-reads, but favourites.
I heard John sing only rarely; my family gatherings are given more to talk than music. My loss. And now, OUR loss. Our GREAT loss. The world is now a less interesting place.
Roberta Rivett