Rest in peace, Stu

Today we got the news that this wonderful man has died. He was houseless by choice, in solidarity with those who have no choice. I gather that he had a conventional education, had a conventional job, and then had a complete change of life. I always wanted to talk to him alone and ask him when he decided to be houseless, and how it was going for him. He seemed to be in excellent health, and younger than I. 

We met at the Occupy ICE encampment last June. I think of him as the embodiment of love, the soul of the camp, accepting of everyone, kind to everyone, wise, stable, and highly skilled. He avoided intoxicants of any kind. He could put up a tent, stabilize a tarp, hang a light and power it from any kind of battery; he could wire a sound system, build a raised garden bed, set up a composting toilet. He knew how to do a wifi hotspot, how to power a computer without electricity. He was jailed for a time, as many of the activists were. It is one of the lawyers representing the activists who told us of his death, but because of privacy laws, he could not tell us any details. Over the last few days, a few details leaked out, and they are heartbreaking. I never knew his last name; I don't know anyone who did. We all just called him Stu, and when we spoke of him we always smiled. A story from the Guardian names him very briefly: Stuart Tanquist. He was stable and sensible; he didn't get involved in the little cliques, the infighting, the squabbles. He was good to everyone. When the police moved in and "swept" the camp, he and two others were the last ones there, and he posted streaming video of the final hours of the camp. 

This is the last photo I made of him, in August at a protest outside City Hall. We spoke briefly. He said he was fine. He said he might move to Seattle soon. When I didn't see him for a while, I thought he'd gone to Seattle. I wish I had made time for that conversation. I could have learned so much from him. Many of us are grieving.