I will miss you my friend, Mark Lindner

On Sunday, February 13, 2022, as I was heading out of my Sunday reference shift, this blog post by Meredith Farkas appeared on my feed reader. And thus I found that my friend and colleague in the profession Mark Lindner died by suicide. 

I met Mark first online like many of us did, back in the so-called golden days of the biblioblogosphere when many fine librarians wrote about libraries, librarianship, and a bit about their lives. Mark kept a blog for many years, and he was one of the most insightful thinkers among the librarians. He always found a way to reflect on important topics as well as small details. He often provided perspectives that others missed. He did all that with kindness and generosity. When I could I would add a comment here and there to his blog posts. 

 

I know I met him in person eventually at some library conference, and I wish I could remember exactly which one. This was at a time that feels like so long ago, a time long before COVID. I followed him on social media, including Facebook, but probably not as closely as others did. In recent years I've just moved away from engaging librarianship on social media. But I was always glad when he wrote something new. He was always thinking, tinkering, probing, reflecting, and I always admired and appreciated that. For me, it was often an opportunity to learn something new, to think about something in a new or different way. 

I wish I had something more eloquent I could say about my friend that has not been said already. Farkas sums up a lot of who Mark was and how he lived. So I will finish here with two things. 

One, if I had to draw a Tarot card for my friend, it would be the Knight of Cups. He was generous, kind, curious, and willing to follow his imagination. He was active in our community. He was also a caring individual. 

And two, a small musical tribute, a song by poet, songwriter, and singer Alberto Cortez, who can express so well what happens when a friend leaves, "Cuando un amigo se va." 

 

I hope you found the peace and rest that eluded you in this life. Hope to see you on the flip side. In the meantime, I will miss you my friend.   

From the lyrics (with my translation): 

"Cuando un amigo se va
Una estrella se ha perdido
La que ilumina el lugar
Donde hay un niño dormido..."

"When a friend leave us

a star has been lost

the one that shines upon the place

where a child sleeps. . . "