Saturday, May 16, 2015

The Vanishing Point of Microdot

For all the friends of Microdot who perhaps have been wondering about the ominous absence of posts since his return from the hospital, I, Madame Microdot have finally enough courage to sit in front of his computer and write a few words to tell you that that delightful, creative, curious, surreal, encyclopedia brain behind thebrainpolice is no longer among us.


It is very strange for me to be sitting in his chair in his natural habitat of utter chaos where I never, never have ventured before.  He had his space, I had mine.  We would often send emails to each other from upstairs to downstairs.  There would be ensuing howls of laughter through the floorboards.  But tonight I am here and looking around at his hodge podge, topsy-turvy shelves and they speak more about the man than I could ever describe.  For sure, no one ever policed that singular brain of his!

Here is just a peek... I don't think he would mind. (Impossible to list more than a fraction of the stuff, but you'll get the idea, as my eyes roam over the piles.)

Two Robert Crumb cards of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Barbecue Bob bluesmen
A little book he adored by one of his favorite artists, Edward Gorey, "The Water Flowers"
A video tape of "Forbidden Planet"
A little teddy bear statue that a lady here gave him
The Art of Charcuterie Cookbook
The MC5 "A True Testimonial" DVD
About 50 or 60 Georges Simenon Maigret books
An old Belle Star 45 rpm from our days in the band in NY, circa the early 1980's
Books about mushrooms, wild orchids, kite craft, cartoonists
A plastic statue with a bobbing head of "Big Boy", home of the double decker
Tangled up cords of every description (computer, radio, electric... who knows)
Piles of comic books with a penchant for Weird Comics
Recipes of Chinese Spareribs
Colette's "Secrets of the Flesh" ... (Hey, that's mine and I wondered where it went...)
Lots of CDs of Frank Zappa, Wayne Kramer, Iggy Pop, Bootsy Collins, (Bootsy's New Rubber Band), Sun Ra, Funkedelic, etc.
Reproductions of Marcel Duchamps, Max Ernst (Microdot was simply gaga for DADA)
A sweet Dutch wall calendar (out of date)
Videos of all of the Jacques Tati films
A Batman pin
An antique box camera
A couple of pairs of old shoes stuck in the bookshelf
A hammer, some wrenches, nails and screws, screwdrivers crammed in a Pernot water pitcher from the '50s, along with oil paint and water color brushes
Five Japanese calligraphy brush sets
A huge pile of maps
And that is just scratching the surface...

I almost passed out when we got the prognosis as he left the hospital: he had from 3 days to a month to live.  His cancer(s) had progressed to the point of no treatment possible.  He said to me, "Don't worry, I'm going to drag this thing out like the third act of a bad Opera."  And he did.  He lasted just a little over a month.  During that time he was reading avidly, and I mean gluttonously, stuffing that brain with more facts.  He mostly was reading history books, almost one a day.  He never complained.  He told me that he didn't have time to be depressed.  If he wasn't reading he was doing the NY Times crossword puzzles.  Death came gently and he was at home with the window open to the new leaves of spring.

I have to turn off his computer now.

My email is: mygarden@orange.fr

In closing, here is a little poem by Emily Dickinson from 1894 that I read today:

The Butterfly upon the Sky
That doesn't know its Name
And hasn't any tax to pay
And hasn't any Home
Is just as high as you and I,
And higher, I believe,
So soar away and never sigh
And that's the way to grieve~~~




22 comments:

David said...

Sigh. Mme, you are both class acts. We, his loyal readers, will miss him. Hugs for you.

Ol'Buzzard said...

I miss him.
My love to you.

bj said...

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/and-death-shall-have-no-dominion/

Anonymous said...

the world is a little darker now without his light. I will miss him. My sincerest condolences for you loss.

Unknown said...

I just happened upon this blog this morning while reading about cheeses (of all things).. I had been reading through entries of 2007 and, finding the writings both evocative and decidedly more interesting than helping my girlfriend weed the garden, I thought I'd see what this wonderful writer was up to now.

Only to find yesterday's entry of this man's passing.

Perhaps his soul is wandering a bit, my dear, and I would venture that he is capable still of putting a few smiles on faces before he ascends onward into the ether.

Thank you and do please leave the posts up as I would so enjoy reading them all.

Kind regards
Eric

Anonymous said...

I have followed the brain police for many years, and Microdot's humor and interests have been a joy to share. I will miss him, though I never met him.
-a Detroit homeboy

Unknown said...

I will miss him too. My sincerest condolences to you. He and I have been internet buddies for several years and almost got together when he visisted Rome a couple years ago.

I'm glad he didn't have a prolonged suffering prior to moving on.

AGNUS said...

My condolences to you. very sorry to hear. Rest in Peace

Al said...

I am so sad to hear this news. I wish you strength and courage to move forward and send you my sincere condolences.

dog gone said...

We each of us who enjoyed his posts and appreciated his wonderfully eclectic mind will miss him. Sincere condolences on your loss which is so much greater than all of ours.

He was a remarkable individual. I hope it comforts you at least a little to know how widely he was appreciated.

Laci The Dog said...

I was sorry to hear of his passing even though we never met in reality. Although, knowing Patrick, we met.

I'm sorry I was never able to share a holiday like "Les Vacances de M. Hulot" with you and Patrick: even if it was inland in the Dordogne.

I'll think of him every time I raise a glass of wine.

bj said...
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