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Back The Underminer Save as PDF
Chapters (21)
  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Bright Young Things campus of Clarkwell College, graduation in the town of Clarksville, somewhere upstate, 1990
  6. Cool Days open mike night at Kafka-fe, after band "2 Much" plays, 1991
  7. New on the Scene utside in front of Club Hush, for a film screening party of Kill Fee, 1993 o
  8. Single in the City at a French bistro, 1995
  9. Hangover brunch, the morning after, 1995
  10. Natural Health a chance meeting at Jasper’s Yoga Studio, 1996
  11. The Fat Flush ’90s in the foyer of a friend’s renovated brownstone, 1997
  12. Art Stars at Bonwyck Gallery, 1998
  13. Inner Odyssey the Burning Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, 1999
  14. Life After Death facedown in the dirt of the desert, next morning, 1999
  15. Loyal Companions catching up at the dog run, 2000 catching up at the dog run, 2000
  16. In the Real World a run-in at the ShopShape magazine launch party sponsored by Senor Strawberry Liqueur, early 2001
  17. Wartime spotted at Kinko's, late 2001
  18. Office Job in the cafeteria of the Conde Nast building, 2003
  19. Settling a yard sale on an obscure block in the outer borough, 2003
  20. Starting Over in a remote village tavern on the farmlands of New Zealand, 2004
  21. Epilogue a gathering of friends

Where do you live? Oh wow—yeah, I heard you can still find some cheap run-down barns in that area. Just be careful, you know. Friends of mine who have remote homes (like a lot of my famous or whatever star-friends) always talk about how there are a lot of hidden dangers to this kind of rustic life. Bad blizzards, snakes, hurricanes, stuck in your barn without any food. And then of course there's the whole threat of losing it . . . you know, the Apocalypse Now Syndrome. But I don't think you'll have a problem. You are looking so hearty and ravaged. In a COOL way!

Yeah, we've got a house here, Sam and I. And listen, if you ever need anything, or if you're homesick, you can just trek over to our place. We have a heliport that gets us to the U.S. in about eight hours. We're "bicontinental." Also Sheila and I are opening a chain of organic convenience stores and Pookalan studios in the area next year, so if you can hold out till then, you can—

What? Why are you so upset? What is it? Why are you crying? You poor little strange thing.

No, you can tell me. Don't be shy.

Come on, sweetie. Come on, just let it out.

I know it's hard. I know it's been hard.

But I'll always be by your side. I've known you forever. We've been through so much. You can tell me everything.

I'm your closest friend.

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Epilogue a gathering of friends

Epilogue

a gathering of friends

Wow. Thank you all for coming here!

First I want to thank Mr. Branson for underwriting travel costs to get everyone here. And I want to thank Avi for this amazing white canopy and candles, and Bobby for his incredible food and Robert who did such amazing floral arrangements. Let's give them all a round of applause! Thank you!

So, well, here we all are. Thank you for coming to this windy point . . . a location that, only two weeks before, was where my best friend's life ended . . . a life we all know, now, was in terrible turmoil.

As the small handful of my best friend's friends, family, and loved ones, you may have thought you knew the inner life of this . . . special child . . . who seemed like such a normal, fine, conversationally competent person. But no, we were wrong.

I actually was the last person to really talk and connect with my best friend. Underneath that uniform, "normal," almost shaky exterior, there was an intense, almost desperate ambition, a paranoia and despondent emotional pain hidden so well from most of you.