Got some bad news yesterday: a friend from college, Garland English, was hiking near his home in Hawaii on Sunday when he fell off a cliff and died. Very sad.
Garland was known by pretty much everyone at Columbia, it seemed. He was a total eccentric, a total character, but more than anything else I'll remember how extraordinarily principled he was. I first met him the way most people at Columbia did: A month into Freshman year, Garland was outraged to see how many people at school bought Coors Light, which he decided was manufactured by an evil company (he may have had a point). Whereas most people would be content to simply whine and judge, the obvious response for Garland was to rent a truck, drive up to his childhood home near Albany, and purchase 1400 cans of Genesse Cream Ale. He turned around, drove it all the way back to campus, and sold every last can out of his dorm room (which, I'll admit, was a little cramped). Mind you, he sold it all at cost, and didn't make a dime off of any of it. Like I said: principled. We will miss him.
A little bit more about Garland, who must have been an facinating roommate, here.
I was going to call you now as I read this, all teary, but I figured that there's nothing more to be said. Garland was really something else; I remember him so clearly, he was unique and I always thought he would rock the world some day. Remember when he challenged you to a fight, because...uh, because...uh...'cause he could? I dunno. He had some silly reason for it. And that big coat of his. I'm feeling very sad.
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