Celebrating a Life

Last night at the Writers Guild Theater, there was a memorial for my friend Blake Snyder.  Actually, they titled the event a “Celebration of Life”, and it certainly was that.

I managed to arrive a few minutes ahead of the event – an accomplishment, as I’d pulled out of my apartment drive later than I’d meant to, and would have to cross Hollywood to Beverly Hills at peak evening travel time on the streets, the 7 o’clock hour, when people are heading out for dinner (or still getting home from work).  But I made it.

Walking into the lobby, there were many people milling about.  It had that interesting feel of people looking for other specific people whom they hadn’t actually met face-to-face.  This was one of Blake’s gifts: his speaking engagements and workshops created handfuls of people who had met, and then started connecting with others online as the Save the Cat! community began to grow.  Many had exchanged comments and discussions online but had not met face to face.

On a table by the entrance were very nice laminated tags, like ID tags for some event.  But these had a very nice picture of Blake himself on them, and on the back, something he had posted the day before he died: “The most important thing to do is to love what you’re doing.”  That definitely captures the Blake I knew.

Also in the lobby were a couple of tables covered with strips of white paper, to allow the guests to write notes of appreciation on them – notes which were frequently addressed to Blake (well, mine was).  It was a very nice way to express the appreciation one felt.

After everyone filed into the theater, the remembrancing began.

Bess Wohl made some opening remarks, as someone who had gotten to know him recently.  And of course, one of the central features of her comments was Blake’s accessibility to all he met.

This was followed by a panel (titled “Life With Blake”), moderated by Deb Eckerling (who had interviewed Blake this summer), with Sheldon Bull, Howard Burkons, Colby Carr, Tracey Jackson and Lex Passaris.

There was a lot of laughter as they told stories about their experiences with Blake — all dating from different periods.  Tracey had known Blake since they were in preschool together, and they had remained good friends for the rest of his life.  The thing that struck me in all the stories, was that even as they spanned the whole of his life, I could easily see the Blake I knew in their stories — his was a vivid personality, even as he went through life’s changes.

After the panel, Romany Malco read some of the individual tributes that had been sent in.  It was a sampling only, of course (on the blog on Blake’s site there were over 500 posted).  A couple of them came from a part of Blake’s life I had not known of — from people he had sponsored through AA.  Romany brought his own humor to this task, without it seeming out of place.  It was, I thought, just what Blake would have enjoyed hearing.

This was followed by a video tribute, from pictures of him throughout his life.  There was no mistaking the eyes or the smile, no matter what age the image.

Tracey Jackson closed out the planned program with some closing remarks.  She had been caught by the pictures since she was in many of the early ones.  But she worked her way back to the closing humor she had planned.

As the earlier panel had wound down, Sheldon Bull had commented on how much Blake would have enjoyed this evening – all the stories, all the laughter.  He urged everyone to consider expressing their appreciation to their loved ones and frieds well before they are gone.

Laughter and joy certainly were the signature expressions of the evening.  Yes, everyone will miss him greatly.  And yet, in his last years, he had become such an inspiration to writers everywhere.  He had found his calling, he had said once, last year, at a speaking engagement.  Teaching had become such an exciting activity for him, he loved doing it.  It energized him, and he gave his all to it.  On every side there were stories of his quick response to emails or calls.  He seemed to never be “away”.  He even responded to one general email I’d sent him one time, while he was on his vacation.  He had gotten an iPhone early on, and had fallen in love with it — first with its ability to replace his PDA, but then even more, because it allowed him to answer emails from anywhere.  Wherever he was, he would answer.

There are plans to carry on his work.  He had gathered a core around him who are working out how to proceed with his seminars.  And that will be an ongoing tribute to him.