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Where Did You Hear The News A Year Ago Today?


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On January 10, 2020, it was announced to the public that Neil Peart has died from glioblastoma. Where did you hear the news?

 

 

 

Near the evening hours, I was putting on Roll The Bones (cuz I was in the mood for it). The track "Heresy" comes on. I was about to go on to the internet (when I had some Windows 10 thing that showed lots of news when you enter the home page.) I then see a picture of early Neil Peart without reading anything below, and I click on it and wonder "hmm, what's this?" When I read the text in the article (don't remember which website), my heart dropped. I was staring at my screen for a few minutes, as I was thinking that this was surreal. When I got off my computer, I stopped the music, and then stared into space the rest of the night.

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The first time in 6 months I had checked my Instagram... the first thing I see is a post by Rush. I was at my grandma's house when that happened. Night ruined.
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Seems like it was just yesterday…

 

I was standing in my kitchen at about 5:30PM, having just arrived home from a long work week. The 10th was a Friday, and I was supposed to meet some friends for a dinner date. I haven’t done a lot of dating in recent years, but my friends knew this girl that I just “had to meet”…

 

So, I’m standing in the kitchen thinking about how to kill a couple hours before the dinner when a text came in to my phone from a dear friend of mine: “H to O, I’m so sorry to hear the news” with a couple heart emojis tacked on. Um, what news? It had to be that something happened to a mutual friend of ours, or, something happened to someone that my friend knows is really important to me. I didn’t text her back right away. I don’t know why, but with an uneasy feeling my first thought was to check for Rush news (here). And, there it was, totally unexpected, totally devastating, and totally mind numbing. Stunned. A wash of complete emptiness. I texted her back with thanks for caring and letting me know.

 

My spirits crushed, I then had to decide what to do about the dinner that I needed to be at in an hour or so. It had been planned for a while, and I couldn’t come to grips with what would be best: cancel at the last minute, which is totally outside of the norm for me, or go and try to meet someone in my completely devastated state of mind. I went.

 

I did my best to delay the grieving and be somewhat sociable at dinner. Upon arrival, my friend that set up the dinner said she was sorry to hear about Neil. She and her partner are not fans like me, but they appreciate the band and know how much I love Rush (like most of my friends, when they hear Rush they automatically think of me – sound familiar??? :) ). The girl I was meeting really didn’t know about Rush, possibly since she was foreign, so she said she was sorry to hear the news and really had no idea how devastating this truly was for me. I talked briefly about Neil and how much of a huge influence he’s been to me, and I generally stayed away from the subject for the evening, although there were a few times I felt like I was going to burst into tears because I absolutely could not get the subject off my mind. I turned my phone off because it was blowing up with texts from friends and family during dinner... I bluffed my way through things OK, but I’ll be honest, while my dinner companions and I were having our conversations, I wasn’t hearing a damn thing they were saying. I had to catch myself a few times just vacantly staring at the TV at the bar on the other side of the room with some sporting event on it. I managed to engage as best as I could, finished dinner, had desert, said goodbyes and I was now relieved to be able to begin my grief.

 

My dinner friends texted me after everyone got home safe and said they had a nice time, and so did the girl I met, so I at least made it through the dinner and presented myself OK. They asked me what I thought of this girl, and quite honestly, I could barley even remember anything about her. I told them I thought she was nice… It’s too bad, actually, because she was nice, but I really wasn’t even there at the dinner. I still believe I did the right thing by going, but I have never been in a situation where I had to delay grieving and put on a (semi) happy face like that. It’s amazing to me, and to many of us here, how truly hard Neil’s passing hit me.

 

Now home, I simply sat in my basement studio and stared at the wall into the wee hours of the morning. Had a couple The Macallan while random bits of Rush songs played in my head. A lyric here, a chord progression there, a drum beat or fill, random show memories, and a lot of tears. I was stunned for days, and it took many months before I could play a Rush song or watch a DVD.

 

Neil lived a majorly full life and he touched many people in many different ways. I am so proud to be a Rush fan and can’t even measure the influence they’ve had on me in music, business, life in general… An unwavering quest for excellence in everything they’ve done.

 

Thanks for letting me ramble if you've made it this far..., and I’m looking forward to reading other’s experiences that day one year ago. Excellent thread too. It’s been therapeutic to write this!!! :)

Edited by H to O
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I read it on here not too long after the news was released. I sat for about an hour processing the news and then posted in the thread on here. I was sad for a few days but listening to Rush helped me through it since their music gave me nothing but joy.

 

Neil ended his career on his own terms and left us with a great legacy of music to enjoy for years to come. Because of that, I don't spend too much time being sad or heartbroken over his death.

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I actually saw it on Facebook, when Rod from here on TRF posted it. Our daughter was getting married the next day and I was quickly looking through my phone before hosting the rehearsal dinner. Sad to say I had to compartmentalize a little since it was also a time of family celebrating. My brother in law is also a big Rush fan and we were able to quietly exchange condolences with each other, which helped. Heard "Time Stand Still" about 2 weeks later and just lost it. RIP, dear Neil. Edited by blueschica
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From one of the guys in the band.

 

It was quite the bummer for me. I did have to run an errand shortly after and was surprised to hear Red Barchetta on the radio.

 

On Thursday, the only song I heard driving around by Rush was Freewill. It was after the band solo 6/8 section and I cranked it as soon as I heard it.

 

RIP Neil.

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i had just got off of work and i got a twitter DM from a friend. they asked if i had heard the news, so i checked. i felt like i got punched in the stomach, i immediately started crying, i couldn’t hold it together. i drove home and listened to Rush the whole way, it actually helped me stopped crying, but i started crying again when i got home.

 

i waited for my dad to wake up, and as soon as he came out of his room i said, “Dad...” and he replied, “Yeah, i found out. This sucks.” and he hugged me. the rest of the day just felt gloomy. my dad and i talked a lot about it that day and the following week. we reflected on it a lot and it helped us process it.

Edited by jamie
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I was in a line inside of a bank and watching the news feed from a Toronto station (CP24). I then saw the breaking news report. After an expletive it felt like I just got hit with a gut punch. It was a long walk home filled with memories of how Neil and the band influenced my life in such a great way. When I heard how he died and how long he was battling it, that was the second gut punch. Over the last year, I have grown to admire his work even more.
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It had just gone 21:12 in the UK, I was watching Derry Girls do Bake Off with the family, which was a actually pretty funny.

 

My phone buzzed, then buzzed again, then it went into meltdown so I could ignore it no more. Can't recall my exact reaction when I checked the messages but it was expletive laden. One of the few times the kids have pulled me up for my language (usually it's the wife that gets it).

 

Cue a night, nay, a month, of wall to wall Rush listening.

 

 

Edited by Lurkst
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I was just fiddling around on the computer and I get a text from my brother. I yell oh no and my hubby comes in to see what was the matter. I read a blurb about it and then come here to TRF. So much shock and disbelief, I text my sister and when I get no response in an hour, I text her hubby. He says she knows and is devastated and been crying her eyes out. She was the biggest Rush fan in the family, I was the one late to the party. I even took her to R30 for her birthday and I was impressed but didn't go full in until 2011 and found TRF.

Anyway, I think I just kept reading people's posts and listened to some songs but then it just got to be too much. Much like I did when John Lennon died, I just sat in my room with a candle lit. Crying for the cruel fate, for him to lose Selena and know how much time he wanted to have with Olivia was taken from him too, damn it just wasn't fair. :(

 

I hope we keep the banner for a while longer, it just is still so fresh. Neil leaves us and then the world goes to hell with the pandemic, still feel like we need it to stay IMHO.

Edited by Rhyta
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As I had mentioned in my obituary post, it was while browsing Mike Inez's Instagram page. My first phrase (not thought) on seeing the post was, "what, wait, did he die?!" Then I went to Rush Is a Band, confirmed the news, and went numb. The rest of the evening was spent recollecting memories and sharing them, along with what the band meant to me and how I discovered it.
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I was at a work outing, just about to be seated, when received a text from the singer in my band. Once I verified that the text was true, I had to leave. I returned to my car and sat and cried. Once I pulled myself together, I drove home listening to Rush (and continued to cry...) Once I reached home, my wife and kids had by then heard the news and were quite consoling with hugs and words. I spent the night writing to friends, calling friends in various cities, posting here, posting to my FB, and listening to music.

 

To this day I still have some aversion to the area I was at when I heard the news - which is difficult because it's a place that is personally significant to me for other reasons.

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I was getting in my car, leaving work after a particularly busy Friday. I usually follow the news religiously at work but was too busy that day - probably a good thing, I would not want to find that out while in public. I turned the radio on and they were playing "Ghost of a Chance", which is not uncommon. At the end the DJ came on and repeated the news. My first reaction was disbelief, after all the endless fake reports of "Neil has cancer" from the 80's and 90's, and the fact that our DJ is a crank - he once played "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" 15 times in a row just to piss off his boss. I turned to the CBC afternoon show and when I heard "Bytor and the Snow Dog" playing, I knew it was real - they NEVER play Rush. I drove home in shock, constantly reminding not to run a red light or forget to pick up my kid at school. They played Rush all night and all weekend. It was a bit like when we lost Gord, but in that case it was very public and expected. This was a total shock, but I was somewhat relieved that it was kept out of the media till 3 days later, the way Neil wanted it.
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On January 10, 2020, it was announced to the public that Neil Peart has died from glioblastoma. Where did you hear the news?

 

 

 

Near the evening hours, I was putting on Roll The Bones (cuz I was in the mood for it). The track "Heresy" comes on. I was about to go on to the internet (when I had some Windows 10 thing that showed lots of news when you enter the home page.) I then see a picture of early Neil Peart without reading anything below, and I click on it and wonder "hmm, what's this?" When I read the text in the article (don't remember which website), my heart dropped. I was staring at my screen for a few minutes, as I was thinking that this was surreal. When I got off my computer, I stopped the music, and then stared into space the rest of the night.

 

You reminded me, I was running an errand about 2 hours after I found out Neil Peart had died and I almost fainted when I heard Fly By Night (the song) playing on a radio at the business I had went to to do what my boyfriend and I were planning to do (buy a truck.) Then I went and had a drink. I mean, it was a surreal experience. I've had some extreme reactions to finding out people I care about have died, but almost passing out hearing his music right after finding out he died was a mixture of "what the heck" and "oh, well, I guess he left us a lot of nice music to enjoy."

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