Julie D. Remembering Victor

I am searching my memory for the first time I met Victor K. and I can't exactly remember. What I recall most, is getting to know him. It was like peeling off layers of clothing during a game of strip poker. Every time he exposed another part of himself, he became more intriguing, and more real. The man people saw in the hallways was but a shadow of the depth of his character.

I pissed him off once by forwarding something he'd written without his permission. It was right after 9/11 and it was a brilliantly crafted appraisal of what was then, only beginning to take shape. I sent it to a few friends, they sent it to a few friends and so on, and don't ya know, that piece, somehow made it's way around the world and he received a threatening e-mail from someone he'd never met. We were close enough that he could get angry at me for that and I could apologize and we would still be friends.

We shared the same things most friends and coworkers do...laughs, rants, disappointments, joys....and some things friends and coworkers don't...political and spiritual views. I knew Victor as a thinker and a writer and his love for radio was palpable. He truly appreciated being on the air.

Victor, I will miss our electric political conversations. I will miss your hugs. I will miss the smell of Old Spice as you sauntered into the studio to do a shift or just to say hello.

Victor K. I am so grateful to have known you, learned from you and I can't believe you are gone. your friend, Julie