Fundamentally Flawed

Death has seemed to permeate the news over the last few weeks.  We’ve certainly lost our fair share of prominent figures.  Among the overwhelming media coverage of the passing of aged sex symbols, pop superstars, and TV pitchmen, another death passed under the radar of most of us.

Philadelphia was lucky enough to have a rather interesting character in our midst over the last several years… a curious Brit by the name of Steven Wells.  Last Wednesday, intestinal cancer took Steven away from us.

I must admit that I was completely unaware of the totality of his career.  I never knew that before coming to the United States, he was one of the UK’s most notorious music critics who earned the disdain, fear, and respect of many of Britain’s most famous recording artists.

I only knew Steven Wells as the guy who wrote the humorous little op-ed pieces for Philadelphia Weekly.  I knew him as the guy who fearlessly and hilariously skewered politics, culture, hipsters, the media, and religion.  I knew him as the guy who was always going to bring laughter to my Wednesday morning bus ride as I read his latest articles.

If I had to sum up if style, I suppose I would say he was the George Carlin of the Philly media.  He was a world class bullshit detector.  Not only did he detect said bullshit, but he dragged it into the light, mocked it, set it on fire, and pissed on the flames.  Nothing was taboo to Steven.  He was a sarcastic, acerbic, opinionated son of a bitch… and you loved him for it.

He was also a humanitarian and all around great guy.  He always took the time to respond to the emails I sent him about his articles.  I also had the pleasure of meeting him when he came to our Philly Atheist Meetup to do a PW cover story about us (for the Christmas issue, nonetheless).  For all of his seething commentaries and venomous rants, he was actually just a smart, friendly, and unassuming fellow.

Many of those who knew him wrote tributes to him in this week’s issue of PW, but I have to say that my favorite was written by Jonathan Valania:

Most Public battles with cancer are cast as heroic.  Wells would have none of that bullocks,  He was scared shitless, and he said as much because it’s the only reasonable human response.  He was mad as hell at the unfairness of it all, because, again, it is the only reasonable response.  And by the end he was sick of it all - the pain, the indignity, and the boredom of dying.  What made Steven heroic was his willingness to say as much for publication, in lieu of some phony brave face.  If nothing else, he innovated the lost art of dying honestly.  If there is anything to be learned from Wells’ cruelly premature passing it’s this: Life is not fair, and it’s later than you think.  So enjoy yourself and plan accordingly.

Some might view this as a depressing and nihilistic view of life and death.  I see it as quite the opposite.  Reality isn’t always pretty.  Life isn’t always fair.  These are truths that we have to accept.  We have to accept it and get the fuck over it.  Stop lying to yourself and pretending that there’s some deeper meaning hidden behind the scenes.  Stop pretending that everything happens for a reason.  Stop viewing life as an audition for some delusional view of eternity.

If you want your life to have meaning, then get off your ass and give your life some meaning.  Make someone smile.  Make someone laugh.  Reach out and help someone who is in need.  And most importantly, don’t ever forget to let the people you are fortunate enough to have in your life know how happy you are to share your all-too-brief existence with them.

We have what is here.  We have what is now.  Get the hell out there and make the here and now count, and try to leave this crazy and beautiful world a little bit nicer than it was when you got here.

Steven Wells was one of those clever little primates who did just that.  Like all of us, he could only carry the torch so far.  The best way for us to honor him is to pick it up and carry it for however long we can, and hope that someone else is there to grab it when we’ve reached the end of our brief journey.

Steven, thanks for making us laugh.  Thanks for making us think.  Thanks for the time you spent in our mad, mad world…

Although it wasn’t long enough.

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Please check out the full tribute to Steven Wells at the Philadelphia Weekly site…

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/steven-wells/