Patrick, We Hardly Knew Ye

I just spoke to Patrick Lee last week; he interviewed me about StageGrade. We had met and lunched a few months ago; he asked me to contribute to Just Shows To Go You's Tony nominees poll, and he in turn contributed to StageGrade's recent critics poll.

All of which is to say, I was just getting to know Patrick--a theater critic, blogger, entrepreneur, and all-around class act--when I received the news today that he died at 51 ("earlier this month," reports his frequent employer TheaterMania). There's the grief of losing someone you knew well; then there's the slightly bewildering shock of losing someone you were just getting to know, and felt you would have plenty of time to get to know better.

You'll be missed, sir.