RIP Linkin Park

I say that because whenever a member of an immensely popular group dies, the entire group does. Audioslave, Nirvana, Sublime, they are all dead. You cannot replace a member that has been part of it all for over a decade. We, the listeners, know the sound. We know the voice. Then it's gone. Never to be heard again unless you go into the past & press play on a recording, of course.

I cannot believe it. Obviously, I am introspective about this. He is no longer here for me to ask about him & his feelings. All I got is myself. So Chester ends his life & I get flashbacks of attempts to end my own after, before & while listening to Linkin Park music.

As a teenager, I learned what pain was & did not want to deal with it. I felt like I wasn't equipped to.
I hadn't the slightest idea I would have over a decade ahead of me of suffering.

Anyway, lot of Linkin Park's music helped me not feel as alone in a three bedroom house with only me in it. Plenty mornings & nights. I would listen & embrace my pain. I would embrace my tears. I would cry so much. I would feel so grateful that I wasn't the only one that deals with such pain. I felt strong. & feel even stronger now. Surprisingly.

I pray Chester's children find the strength he left behind. I certainly got mine.

Thank you for your life, Chester. & I'm sorry.