In Memoriam: Tony Styles

You don't know Tony, but he's dead.

He used to volunteer his admin skills at CTV, and is to this day still the only person I've ever known actually make the office work. He had a dry sense of humour, always wore shorts to work, and could charm the skin off a snake over the phone. He was also a pain in the arse sometimes, but you don't get to be a killer admin guy without the patience, hide, and cunning of a crocodile.

After some months absence, he was coming back this Friday to admin again.

Instead, a couple of days ago, he died on the couch watching TV. Just like that. Deep vein thrombosis is suspected. Is that even possible? I don't know.

I'm not even sure how old he was. 38? 42? We'd chat in the office, but I spent most of my hours upstairs at an editing suite and he'd be downstairs orchestrating order out of chaos.

People die all the time, are dying right now, out of view, out of knowledge. Every now and then, someone dies that you know, however casually, and it unsettles the picture of the world you carry around inside your head. It's like an actor has gone backstage, but not returned on his cue. It's like you've just put a book down for a moment, and now it's not there anymore. Gone.

Tony's dead. He won't get to travel again, nor explain why today's mass media education is a failure, nor tell any more jokes about having been an exec-level civil servant.

Ciao, Tony.