Tim Wilson on Dan
Dan and I would always meet at the same designated location where I would then hand in my completed work: the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Even with the lunch time crowd and herds of tourists, I never had any trouble spotting Dan. It could be one of the hottest days of the year and he'd still be wearing dark clothes!
We'd chat for a bit, and I'd hand him a manila envelope and he'd hand me cash for my work. Needless to say, one of us would come up with some sort of a joke about our "drop-off" and how suspicious it might look to some curious eyes. Sometimes we even made a show of our exchange just for fun!
Dan was a mensch. Every so often he'd sense that I was going through some sort of financial difficulty and would kick in a small bonus at our drop-off. He was always extremely supportive of my work for the Gazette and boosted my confidence level many times with his kind comments.
Although I was aware since November that he was extremely ill, it still felt like a kick to the stomach when Larry told me he'd died. After I hung up the phone I sat quietly for a few minutes to take in the news.
And then a strangely comforting thought popped into my head... "Well, at least he saw Ricky and Bianca get married!"
Last year I showed him a video I just received from England of the episodes leading up to Ricky and Bianca becoming man and wife. I remember he truly loved those episodes, which exemplified what EastEnders does best: showing a community come together to mourn (as in Arthur's case), or in this case, celebrate.
Having already watched the tape several times over I went to get us a pizza and when I returned (just before the actual ceremony) Dan was already visibly moved, his cheeks moist from tears. Luckily there was an extremely funny bit, which helped break the awkward moment between us and Dan erupted into that high-pitched cackle which called itself a laugh.
Dan loved the show, and that was about the only thing we had in common. But it sure was enough.
