Mike Wieringo, one of my roommates my freshman year of college, passed away last Sunday, apparently of a heart attack. He was 44 years old.
Mike was a fantastic guy –- wildly talented with his comic book art, very funny in a dry, self-deprecating way… and the only person I’ve ever known to fall asleep standing up at a party. You should see the praise the people in the comic world are writing about him –- Google him, you’ll see how respected he was.
Toward the end of our year together, I screwed up one night and was an inconsiderate roommate –- loud and stupid. Rightfully, Mike got pissed -– and there was some tension as we parted ways.
Over the years I kept up with his career from afar –- seeing his work in some comics (I’m admittedly not a huge comic fan, but I do maintain a subscription to Iron Man, the comic I loved as a kid) and checking in on his website (www.mikewieringo.com) now and again to see his daily blogs and sketches. I kept telling myself I should write to him, to reconnect, but I never did.
I got back in touch with his brother Matt -– another roommate, and another talented artist and hilarious mofo, with an encyclopedic knowledge of film -– a couple years ago… but never did with Mike.
Wherever he is I hope Mike knows I always thought he was cool as shit and that I’m sorry I was an ass.
Last night, thinking of Mike, I wrote to my high school biology teacher to thank her for being such a great teacher and role model -– someone from whose bag of tricks I stole almost every day I taught. This was something I’ve been meaning to do for years.
2 comments:
Been reading about Mike for the last couple days on others websites - and seeing his sketches. Can't help but recognize his style. That you were his roommate again shows just how small the world is.
That he's gone just reminds us how short our time is and how much we need to cherish every moment.
And its nice to know that even though we aren't always around - we can still stay in touch with the ones we care about through email and blogs.
great post. Hope you're hanging in there brother.
My prayers out to his family and friends.
Thanks bro -- yes, it's important to stay connected. Even when you're all the way over there...
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