Goodnight, Mr. Orlando

     Billy Manes, was unlike anyone else and today, even though I never met him, I can attest that Orlando truly lost a large part of itself.  

Through social media, we are constantly bombarded with stories about death, but each one is as impactful as the last. Why are we humans so emotionally effected by the passing of someone who we never actually met? 

        My first introduction to Mr. Manes was sadly my only introduction. However it was an intoxicating experience. I discovered his editorials in the Orlando weekly, after moving to Orlando from Colorado. Those mile high school years were spent reading the writings of edgy fringe writers which prepared me for the tonality and wit that Billy was so fluent in. I was in awe of his writing style. It was reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson with a touch of Bowie, however this is an unfair reduction of his talents. There was so much more complexity, humor, and intelligence in his writings. 

           His writing was the motivating factor for me to pick up the weekly and to strengthen my writing prowess to match his talents. I feel as though I got to learn so much about him merely though those articles. Billy was larger then life, he was surreal, eccentric and overall, a genius. 

            Despite being a genius, I never got to experience it first hand, I have met those who knew him, and they said that he was just as amazing in person wrapped in a sheet of kindness. While Billy may have frequented the clubs and bars of Orlando, I was just merely a grain of sand in the large  social ocean of Orlando however this fact doesn't minimize the impact that his passing has. We humans are so emotionally effected by the passing of someone who we never actually met because mortality is part of the human experience. When we connect or relate to someone even from a far, it makes that passing even harder. I don't just speak for myself when I say, Orlando will miss you.