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R.I.P. Dustin

Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 No comments

It seems like there’s been a lot of loss in my life lately. A few weeks ago my friend Dustin posted on Facebook that he’d had a heart attack and a surgical procedure. After a few days at his parents’ house, he was back home in Nashville recovering. A few days later (exactly 1 month after Reese passed), he died.

I first met Dustin when I was finishing grad school in 2005. I was when I was meeting my first gay friends and beginning the process of coming out. We were introduced by a mutual friend and Dustin introduced me to a lot of people who became great friends. We hung out a lot in those days. I remember going out drinking, going to parties at his place, or going to watch TV or movies at his place and not being able to stay awake. I was an early riser because but most of them got to sleep in. That first year he was having a birthday party (or anniversary party as he liked to call them), and when he found out I was about to graduate, he started telling the guests that we were also celebrating my upcoming graduation, which I thought was really nice. For some reason he kept inviting me along for stuff, even a 3-hour trip to Memphis to go to a gay bar.

Dustin was hilarious, smart, and kind. Sometimes he could be the mean, sassy gay guy with his jokes but looking back I don’t think he ever meant any harm. I don’t have any pics of us together, but I took this pic below at his place, which I think was dubbed Casa de Barnes that night. [They were playing in the rain, but I was keeping dry] Dustin is the 2nd from right.

Dustin was the biggest Mariah Carey fan I know. He was obsessed! If you look at his Twitter and Facebook pages they have Mariah on them. I guess a lot of people were mentioning her when remembering him because on the day of his visitation she posted a message saying she wishes she could have had a chance to talk to him.

Although we follow each other’s lives on social media, it had been 2 years since we really talked. He was an editor at USA today. I looked back through old messages and saw us quoting Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Strangers with Candy.

I’ll miss you, Dustin. Rest easy.