dominic mallary, totally great person, passed away last week in a fluke accident. thursday, while singing for his band at a show in boston, he developed a bruise on his neck, and later in the night a blood clot traveled from the bruise to the brain. he fell into a coma, and died friday afternoon. i met dom when he came in the shop with some noise cds he and his girlfriend angela made. soon he was volunteering at the shop every week, on thursdays. dom was always working on a new musical project or developing an existing one, and working the shop on our slowest day gave him a rare opportunity to do nothing but sit around and read books of philosophy, and interact with random people.

dom was 24 years old, and as a teenager frequented the firecracker bookstore, an anarchist bookstore in downtown worcester that i was a part of. one of the first times we met he claimed this as a source of inspiration, and this became a genuine point of personal pride for me– to think that i could have had an effect on his growth into a brilliant punk living beautifully. even more meaningful to me was that he wanted to be involved with the shop in an effort to carry this forward, and give others the experience of something new, something different. i will say this: he was someone i had a great deal of hope in, and we will have to simply imagine the fantastic heights he could’ve achieved. that i did not get to know him better, is one of my few regrets. but of course, i feel lucky that i got to know him at all.

punks rarely talk about an afterlife except to say that it doesn’t exist. nonetheless i can’t shake the feeling of dom watching over me, making sure i’m: squeezing every last bit out of life, falling in love a million times a day, trying my hardest to achieve my full potential, helping others do the same, and enjoying every minute of it.

dom, i have no intention of letting you down.

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this saturday (the 13th) HBML will be having an event to raise money for hospital and funeral expenses. if you bring in a blank garment, we will silk screen onto it an image of a very very thorny and wonderful plant in tribute to our friend. the image will be available in both black or white ink. the print will cost $5 or whatever, and all money will go to dom’s family.