Joshua Stracener passed away, I'm unsure of a graceful way to begin an online Eulogy, but at least you have an idea of what you're about to read.
“...Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone.” - Red (Stephen King) ‘The Shawshank Redemption'
I didn’t know what to make of the guy the first time I met him, the armor a social outcast wears is often thick, and mine was fortified to the hilt. Here was a guy who on outward appearances had no business burning his time inside a mall arcade, he was friendly, outgoing, attractive (I’m a dude…I can still say that) and certainly had enough outside interests that immediate suspicion was heaped upon what walked, talked and quacked like a tourist.
Several hours later both our palms were bloody and blistered from bumping the Gold Mine for a few extra tokens and Street Fighter Alpha 2 was huddled in the corner crying for a break from the onslaught. Julie (the manager at the time) was not amused at the antics and kicked us both out after we set off the mine alarm for what was most certainly a double digit number on the night. Suddenly this picture of preppie perfection joined in with me as we unleashed a torrent of curse words and creative euphemisms. Preconceived notions were now destroyed, and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
In the cannon of arcade lore Julie hired Chelsea, who then ascended to the throne and brought aboard SteveDave and Karla. As they headed out to pasture the leap was made and in an act that was both inspired and insane Chelsea brought aboard a regular and Josh was the first chosen to serve as Number 2. This was the beginning of a golden age within the hallowed halls of the East Hills Shopping Center, Josh worked the 36 hour a week shift with nary a complaint and soon the inmates took hold of the asylum with smashing success.
Marvel Super Heroes, Samurai Showdown 2, NBA Hangtime, Star Wars Pinball, Bust A Move, the list went on and on and so did the fun. The 9 p.m. closing time was soon disavowed, for the select few the clock now tolled at 11 and thus a lifestyle was born. After a year at the helm Josh stepped down to the occasional part-time duty, Jeremy was next to wield the matrix of leadership and after him it passed to me, Josh served as mentor and emergency backup (like the time I was in jail when I was supposed to be at work.)
But it wasn’t just the games, in your teens and twenties a summer evening holds the promise of eternity and a family was born within the walls of that “family fun center.” Hunan’s for dinner, movie night at the Plaza 8 with Ray sneaking all our candy in under his buff bod and spiffy track suit, road trips to Metro North, cruisin’ down The Belt, Playstation at whichever house was available. Josh was a guy that was always down for good times.
Let the record now show that the only reason he gave up the sweetest 36 hours a man will ever work is because he had a hobby, and that hobby was a doozy. Chrome wheels, sweet spoilers, a system that goes boom, in all it was a damn shame that The Fast and the Furious came along when it did because Josh was about 5 years ahead of the curve. Grinding away at the factory Josh procured and tricked out a chariot of mythic proportions. But soon that myth wasn't enough and he locked his eyes on a fierce yellow Mustang we would all learn to envy. At first of course, we all thought him crazy to spend such money on a car, such cash on a sound system. Then one day we were both working a Friday morning when Josh told me to bring a CD out to the car and see what I’d been missing. The only disc on hand was a copy of The Smashing Pumpkins ‘Adore’ that was on loan from The Mosh King, so as Chelsea came in from her weekly two day bender at the casino we happily skipped out into an early afternoon sun and fired up The Mustang.
I’ve never heard sound so pure, heretofore unknown aspects of the titular track 'Adore' now floated inside my ears while Josh sat next to me with a beatific glow that the Dalai Lama would be jealous of. I knew he was a gamer, I knew he was a hard worker, I knew he was a good friend and better boyfriend (I don’t PERSONALLY know that last bit, but I saw him put more effort into fleeting dames than I ever have) but to see the satisfaction he held by simply knowing that I too could hear the difference I now knew he was also an artist.
It’s said that we all suffer for our art, and Josh suffered the sling and arrows out outrageous theft more times than I can count. It seemed like every few months he’d come into the arcade with a cloud above his head and once it was drug out of him you’d find out that once again someone had jacked his car and stolen his equipment. There were more plans to catch these crooks than plots against The Roadrunner, but time and again his Coyotesque plans fell apart as his system disappeared into the night. One time, honest to God, someone used a disc sander to get through his car door and open it up, you just can’t plan to foil such tactics.
But Josh never let it get him down for long; he just went back to work and planned the bigger and better system he’d be getting in the next few weeks or so. The girlfriend that became my wife went on double dates with him and his girlfriend; she snickered as he explained the special foam he had installed to keep the side panels from vibrating off. Halfway to Barry Road she nudged me in the side and confirmed that, yes indeed, the bass went boom and his shit did rock tasty hard.
A guy who should have been a frat boy douche was instead the most undercover brother of all the geeks. His Magic Cards flopped with a vengeance, his Pokémon were not to be trifled with, if Josh was done wrong by missing out on the Car Mod craze it was an outright sin he didn’t get to cash his early 20’s in during the recent ‘Geek Chic’ era. To boot he will always remain the one who worked the ‘Khaki and Polo’ uniform of the Fun Factory better than all the rest. Jeremy, no matter how good those khaki’s made his ass look, was second best in this regard.
Now by happenstance I found out the other day that he was possibly hurt in a wreck, I found his sister and she confirmed the news. It’s hard to get a hold of a family when states and sometimes continents now separate them, but the call went out, and all have bowed their heads in honor.
When you’re in love there’s nothing to do, there’s only to be. Josh was a man of his time, and he lived in the moment with an eye to the future. His love was unconditional, he simply gave it away, no matter how poorly it was sometimes used. It never got him down for long when someone treated him poorly, and about the only ways to really get under his skin was to tell him his sister was hot or act real confused when you had to spell his last name. But I’m not one to fault a brother protecting his little sister, or the passion of proper spelling.
Nowadays friendships like this don’t bloom, the arcade is gone and ‘gamer pals’ are often separated by miles….if not entire states. People that are tossed into one another either drift apart or band together, he was a cornerstone within our clan of electric brothers. To say he was young is an understatement, to know him and say ‘the best was yet to come’ is the understatement of a lifetime.
I remember back in high school a funeral for a friend. Her name was Gina Dugan, and much like Josh she was a friend to those she loved, not those that society dictated were of the appropriate social level. At the funeral a member of our group (probably the one closest to her from amongst our rabble) made a simple remark that I hadn’t understood for over 15 years now. “People I care about aren’t supposed to die.” It struck me as odd to say such a thing, having buried my own sister and attended more funerals than I care to count I see what he meant that day.
These people aren’t supposed to die, the band plays on and why can’t they? They become part of your world, as vital as the air you breathe and water you drink. Every time I walked into the mall over the years one of the thoughts that popped into my head was “Hey, maybe I’ll run into Stracener today.” Even after the arcade was gone this glimmer of youth still burbled up.
One time, about a year back, he was there, walking down the aisle. We talked, we laughed, suddenly it was yesterday that we were free and today was less than a worry in his eyes and my mind. It doesn’t matter if we hadn’t kept in touch as much as we’d liked over the years, because we didn’t end up in this dance by accident or force. We choose the world we build, and those we choose to build it with matters more than co-workers we force ourselves to identify with later in life or passing obstacles that distract from the simple lesson of love that Josh taught with his every action.
For the rest of my day’s I’ll leave a quarter on the cabinet glass if I have it, it really is a small amount of joy to give in honor of one who gave me so much of the same. For well over a decade we laughed, we cried and sometimes we even raged both inside and outside of that arcade.
Now there’s one less shade in my box of crayons, one less happy coincidence that may occur when I step out my door and I can’t be sure of how to color my world when there’s another thing missing from the drawing. Those double dates at Barry Road helped pave the way for my wife and I to grow together, in kind the family I now love was built on the backs of the family that loved me. There’s a closing moment I’ll throw out here, but trust me when I say there’s a lifetime of moments worth remembering with him. It may seem trivial, but I’ve come to see that those are the moments that matter the most.
It’s also important to remember here just how far apart the soon to be mentioned Drug Store and Arcade were within this mall…exact opposite ends, as far apart as they could be.
INT: A Shopping Mall, Two Males (Jeremy and Josh) are walking out of an Osco Drug store with candy bars and soda pop. The two males overhear a faint voice coming from across the fountain court and seemingly out of nowhere.
VOICE: ……buuuulllllllllllllllllshittttttttttttttttttt……
JEREMY: (turning to Josh) Someone just beat Stracener.
Bullshit of the highest degree if you ask me, nobody beats the King of The Mallrats.
