Subject: Kurt Memory
From: (Larry Smith)
Here is a little glimpse of a happy side of Kurt. Ameasure of the kind of Man he was, even when he was about 15 years old: Old Man Reeves was this kind of eccentric guy who lived on Sylvia Street in Montesano. He was a loner and kids used to really give him a bad time, and do cruel things to him. He would come out on his porch and shake his fist at his tormentors and scream profanities. We (myself included, when I was younger) just loved it. Sometimes kids would throw rocks and break his windows or pull up his flowers (myself not included, thank goodness). He was know for a couple of generations of kids as a real weird and mean guy, even though in actuality he was not. The tormenting went on through quite a few years, and a new group of kids would take over for the old. Kurt, however, changed the tradition. When he was running around with Matt Lukin (I think now of Mudhoney??), Kurt saw the usual group of guys giving Old Man Reeves a hassle. He literally screamed at these guys to leave Old Man Reeves alone. He was so emotional about it (as only Kurt could be) that he stopped these kids in their tracks. They just dropped their jaws as Kurt walked up to Mr. Reeves, put his arm around him, and led him into
the house. From that point on, Kurt had tea with Old Man Reeves quite often. The fact that someone was becoming a friend with Old Man Reeves sort of took the "fun" out of tormenting the elderly man, and there was never quite as much hassle for the guy.
A simple story, but it shows Kurt's sense of humility, compassion, and individuality... (I am describing this as I remember it. It was related to me by my friend Greg Moore of Montesano). If this stuff is interesting to you folks, please know that I have a bunch of memories of Kurt from those years I knew him. I was NOT his greatest buddy or anything, but we had some fun together. Although I was in my 30's at the time (1978 to about 1984), I can tell you that he was an unbelievable kid. Absolute compassion. I miss him. Please let me know if you would like to hear some more about Kurt from my perspective."
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