When You Can't Run, You Crawl, and When You Can't Crawl, You Find Someone to Carry You
When You Can’t Run, You Crawl, and When You Can’t Crawl, You Find Someone to Carry You
It’s been just over a month since the Big Damn Shindig wrapped up in Newhall, California (a Cap’n’s blog about it is coming, I swear), and one of the sweetest memories from the event is the time we spent with the California Browncoats. I’m sure it’s no surprise that Browncoats from all over the ‘verse would be thick as thieves from the moment they met. They obviously have their love of Firefly and Serenity to bond over from jump street, so it’s not really much of a stretch to think they’d hit it off spectacularly. But when I tell you that the Browncoats of our brigade and the California Browncoats got along like we’d known each other all our lives, I am not exaggerating. They surely are some of the shiniest folk you could ever be lucky enough to meet, and we really did feel an immediate kinship with them despite the roughly 2,500 miles that separate us.
That’s why it was nothing short of a dagger in the heart to learn of the untimely passing of Josh Carter, one of the California Browncoats we met and worked with for five days out in Newhall during the Big Damn Shindig. Both Josh and his mother Cat have volunteered with the California Browncoats for a while now, and we really enjoyed getting to know him and spending some time with him as we shared some experiences at the Big Damn Shindig that were truly once in a lifetime. I’m not going to try to pretend that I know a whole lot about the details of Josh’s passing. I’m not sure they even matter. What I do know is how eerie it feels to know that Josh is gone, when just a little over a month ago we were celebrating together and sharing one of the most unique and unforgettable experiences that any Browncoat could ever have. That I know. That… and that he left us way too gorram soon.
Josh’s mom is struggling to meet the expenses for his funeral. There’s no shame in that. These are tough times, and there is never a convenient time to have to bury a loved one. A friend of the family started a fundraiser to help with funeral costs. If you can help a fellow Browncoat give her son a proper burial, please donate what you can using the QR code in the image that accompanies this post, or clicking here. If not, then please do your best just to boost the signal.
Because you know what Browncoats say: “If you can’t run, you crawl, and if you can’t crawl, you find someone to carry you.”
Godspeed, Josh. I’m glad I got to meet you, however briefly, and I hope I will again someday.
Keep flyin’.