Where Did You Hear The News A Year Ago Today?

[GeddysMullet]

I was lying on my couch ill with covid (although at the time I thought it was just some kind of weird flu). A friend of mine who is a notorious fangirl sent me a text reading simply "Neil!" Because she is a notorious fangirl, I assumed she was listening to a song or admiring a photograph, or perhaps writing a story of the sort that would be disapproved of by most of the people here. So I sent her back a text that said "Yes?" with a laughing emoji, and when she didn't answer right away I felt a sense of foreboding, googled, saw the news and sent back "Oh my God! NO!" We texted back and forth for a bit expressing our shock and disbelief, marvelling that he had been so sick and had kept it quiet, and discussing what he meant to us. Then the tears as it sunk in fully, and a whisky in his honour, while texts came in from pretty much everyone I know telling me that they had heard the news and thought of me. The next morning, the first thing I thought of when I woke up was that I was living in a world with no Neil Peart in it, a post-Rush world where there was no longer even a slight chance of a reunion. While that grief persisted for a while, perspective was quick in coming. It is undeniably sad, and especially injust in view of the fate of his first family, but not a personal loss for me the way it is for his family and friends. In the time since then, the music and the videos have been of great comfort.

 

Reading the Rolling Stone article all I could think of was "Thank goodness Alex recovered from his illness in March, because wow, so soon after Neil, what would it have done to Geddy if he hadn't?"

[Weatherman]

I was in my home office chair when I read it on the Washington Post, a front page headline.

Sat there, stunned, total gut punch. I didn't get anything done for the next couple hours, and very little the rest of the day.

I don't drive much, but for the next few weeks I was listening to the temporary Rush station on Sirius XM whenever possible. Heard a few stinkers that I'd forgotten about (Rivendell), but also some gems that I had also forgotten about (Afterimage).

His death brought me back to the band after several years of not listening. I'm sad to have lost him but happy to have reentered the fold, at least emotionally. Their music means something to me again.

[Weatherman]

I was lying on my couch ill with covid (although at the time I thought it was just some kind of weird flu).

 

I think I had it the week before that, during New Years. I don't have proof except for the fact that my illness matched almost all the symptoms, and I kicked it after exactly five days, which is normal for a mild case.

[Weatherman]

Reading the Rolling Stone article all I could think of was "Thank goodness Alex recovered from his illness in March, because wow, so soon after Neil, what would it have done to Geddy if he hadn't?"

 

Because of their long bond, it would've been horribly fitting if two of them had gone out together.

In the same way that long-married couples will often die only days or weeks apart.

[_hi_water._]

Let's just say this, as we can ALL agree here - Neil Peart's death, at the beginning of January 2020, was a big indication that 2020 was not going to be a good year AT ALL. Edited January 13, 2021 by _hi_water._

[Rhyta]

Reading the Rolling Stone article all I could think of was "Thank goodness Alex recovered from his illness in March, because wow, so soon after Neil, what would it have done to Geddy if he hadn't?"

 

Because of their long bond, it would've been horribly fitting if two of them had gone out together.

In the same way that long-married couples will often die only days or weeks apart.

Geddy and Alex were high school buddies, I can't imagine how he would have handled losing both Neil and Alex in the same year. Now I am rubbing my rabbit's foot, let's not tempt fate :scared: :eh:

[Blue J]

I happened to log on here on Friday, January 10th, right after I had just finished a guitar lesson- and the ‘Neil Peart has passed away’ thread was literally less than ten minutes old.

 

I also thought it was a sick joke...but I didn’t go to any other sources, I was just on TRF. But as I refreshed the screen and watched people posting...I sat there and just watched, in awe and emptiness. And I knew it was real.

[Sonatine]

I couldn't quite believe the news that The Professor had died. But when it was confirmed, one of the first things I did was search for YYZ on YT, and just admire the man in action.

 

Still can't believe he's gone, and listening to one of their most underrated songs "Losing It" just makes you wonder even the true greats are not omnipotent.

 

 

Neil made me realise how integral a drummer was to a band - and watching him perform was a privilege

[Smegger68]

I was exactly where I am now, sitting in the office at work doing a night shift. I got a Facebook message from a friend. I was pissed at him for sending me this obvious lie, until I googled it and found out it was true. Didn't get much done that night afterwards I recall.

[Flavia2112]

I was sitting in front of a computer watching the Subdivisions music video with my friend, a casual Rush fan. This was in February or March of 2020. I knew nothing about Rush other than the fact that they had written Tom Sawyer, Limelight, 2112, and Subdivisions, which were fast becoming my favorite songs. My friend remarked that one of the members of Rush had died a couple months ago. Neither of us really cared since we barely knew the names of the band members at the time. As quarantine progressed, I learned more about the band, the people behind the music I so loved. I never had that moment of the Facebook post or the text from a friend and being devastated. For me it just slowly sank in. I started listening to two or three Rush albums on the 7th of every month. I am still very sad.