This week, I’ve had more cause than usual to regret the business of my life and the people missed along the way. Local activist/historian Walt Crowley has himself become history at 59, and all those postponed beers at the Blue Moon sometime have caught up to us for good.

Whether we get 20 years or 80, this much remains the same: life is a fleeting moment on a fast river. Then it’s over the falls and you’re gone.

Crowley’s long fight with cancer came to an unexpected end last Friday when a massive stroke occurred during his hospital recovery from a second round of cancer surgery. Walt and his wife Marie were early and ardent friends of Real Change, and hosted our first house party at their modest Phinney Ridge home. As volunteers, they redesigned our paper as they took us under their wing in those critical early days. Walt, a long-time member of our advisory board, often spoke of his admiration for Real Change’s ability to transcend the left ghetto while speaking to the progressive issues other media often miss.

As a co-founder of Seattle’s underground Helix newspaper in the ’60s, Crowley was a godfather to Seattle’s alternative press scene, a mantle that he wore lightly. Walt was a deeply engaged political activist to the end, who, with his indomitable spirit, his many books, and the vast archives he has assembled at HistoryLink, has left a legacy that will endure. An endowment fund has been created in his memory. Information about that and an Oct. 2 memorial service is available at www.HistoryLink.org.

Read daily posts by Tim Harris at http://www.apesmaslament.blogspot.com