Goodbye Gary

Gary Melton, my radio professor in undergrad, died yesterday of a brain cancer. I'm not sure of his age exactly, but he was barely 60 years old, if that. In his heart he was a solid 25 years old. He was a really great teacher who had an insurmountable enthusiasm for free radio. Also, he really liked the Beatles. One day I played You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) off of Past Masters, Vol. 2 and he ran into the DJ both to talk to me about it. I only knew him a few years, but he was a consummate smoking quitter. I don't think I ever knew him to not be in some process of quitting smoking.

I really barely knew him, but he was such a unique and good person that he has stuck in my memory. When I signed up for SCADradio here at SCAD I was severely disappointed because it was so drool compared to Gary's KRFH. Not only was it a tight community of audiophiles, Gary was a key part of it. He somehow rode the line between authority figure and peer perfectly. Normally I would say that is impossible, but he did it. KRFH was one of those few places where we learned so much, and we had a blast doing it. I can't imagine KRFH without him. Humboldt State has lost a gem. Gary will be missed.

The biggest thing about Gary was that he was living the life he wanted to. (If that isn't really true then I don't need to know it.) Even if you weren't into the same things he was into, his enthusiasm and happiness was infectious. You could tell he got a huge kick out of KRFH, no matter what the pay. He was inspiration, at least to me, to really pursue what you love.