Doug

Today I learned that my friend Doug Jones had been killed in a Los Angeles house fire the day after Christmas. He was smoking in bed. Eleven other residents were displaced, but his was the only death.

Doug was a good two decades older than I, but that was never an obstacle; he loved that I knew so much about books and old movies, and I loved listening to him talk about writing - he'd been nominated for a Pulitzer back in his reporting days.

He's the first good friend I've ever had die.

My first thought was to post a clip of someone saying Kaddish, and I found this.



But seeing as how Doug was Irish Catholic, that really didn't make much sense. So I decided to post the song that I want played at my funeral: "I'll Be On My Way" by the Saw Doctors. It's a celebratory song, and I think that's important - like they say in Brian's Song, it's not how he died that I'll remember, but rather, how he lived.