Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Aww Man, Kevin Raber died

I basically liked Kevin. He was Michael Riechmann's right hand man, and I quite disliked Michael, but Kevin I liked.

Kevin was definitely a hustler, one of those guys who made a living guiding wealthy idiots around in places where they could take photos, a guy who'd built up a modest skill into a reputation, and then sold what we now call parasocial relationships to people who wanted to hang around with a guy with that reputation. Unlike Michael, Kevin wasn't a pompous ass, and was pretty up front about his business.

He got screwed by Michael's worthless kid, started a new web site, etc etc.

But I want the world to know that I liked Kevin. We talked on the phone a few times, and it was always pleasant. He published a few things I wrote, here and there, one of the few people willing to accept my idiosyncratic takes on things and put his name next to mine. That's kind of a big deal, and I appreciated it.

Anyways, he's gone. Most people reading this probably won't even know the name, and maybe some people reading this hated his guts! That's ok. I want someone to get up and yell "that fucker owed me money!" at my funeral so people remember I was kind of a prick a lot of the time. But to me Kevin was nice, and I liked him.