http://cathedral-lonavala.org/dscn0419/ 
John’s apartment was always a mess. It became a running joke among his friends. Some refused to set foot in it after one visit; and claimed it made them clean their own apartments for days afterward. On one occasion, Ingo Swann and I escorted John back from the hospital after an eye operation. As soon as he saw the place, Ingo threw back his head and burst into laughter. George Kuchar interviewed John in his apartment (for his video The Exiled Files of Eddie Gray); when I showed a clip at the Fortean Times UnConvention, Jim Moseley complained that it gave him nightmares.
The photo above is from 1998. As time went on, it got worse; and it wasn’t so funny anymore. John was getting weaker, and was having more trouble walking. His friends were concerned that it was a firetrap and a health hazard.
John was in and out of the hospital — or undergoing rehab at a nursing home — in his last few years. On one occasion, he decided to check into a hotel after his release, and I helped him try to clean up his apartment. John wasn’t a hoarder, exactly: he was perfectly willing to throw things out; he was just too weak, and too overwhelmed, to do it alone. I spent most of a week working with him, just trying to clear out enough clutter so that he wouldn’t be in danger of falling. We filled five storage boxes with old and unmatched shoes from the bedroom floor alone. I lost my voice from inhaling dust and mold; and a few weeks later, the place was worse than ever.
When John was in the hospital, I would often check in on his apartment, bring him his mail, and retrieve clothes and other necessities from the clutter. Here, for your contemplation, is a map he drew on one of those occasions. Need I add that it wasn’t too helpful?
Just seeing that pic makes me want to go home and clean.
It can’t be said enough that John was lucky to have friends like you, Ratso and Anthony in his final days.
Comment by angela — February 2, 2010 @ 10:47 am