I just saw "on Boing Boing":http://www.boingboing.net/2005/07/12/in_memoriam_keith_al.html that "Keith Alexander":http://www.nootrope.net/blog/index.html "died in a bike accident":http://www.zentastic.com/entries/200507121426.html yesterday in NYC. Probably very few of you know who he is, but he was a fairly legendary figure in the NYC body modification scene. After I had started getting into piercings after I turned 18, I had gone in to the now-defunct Gauntlet to get my septum pierced and get my navel pierced properly once and for all. I had attacked myself on at least 2 occasions with an ear gun trying to get a ring to stay in there, and small wonder, it wouldn't.

I was still a fairly poor college student at the time, so when they offered me a cheaper rate to have an apprentice piercer take care of me, I said "Sure!" Turns out that apprentice was Keith. He had just started recently, and was clearly a little bit nervous about making sure he didn't forget anything going over all the questions and precursor stuff with me. He was being helped by a beautiful blonde master piercer, and once we started marking dots and everything he slipped into his rhythm like he had been piercing people for 20 years.

It took him a little while to get the septum piercing lined up, so he had the needle inside my nostril, just tiiiickling me a tiny bit, and I was worried that I was going to sneeze and drive the needle through my brain. I was tempted to just yell "c'mon, just jam it through already", but I restrained, and finally was rewarded with the familiar pinch and slow spreading warmth.

Keith seemed to genuinely enjoy helping people with body modifications; clearly it was a passion of his, and he just wanted to share with the world. I was suprised and pleased to see a big post about his "massive koi tattoo":http://www.boingboing.net/2003/10/17/fullback_koi_tattoo_.html a few years ago, and pleased to find him blogging and very much in touch with the communities that he was interested in.

It's a sad day to lose someone who had such an interest in the world around them, and such a gift for making other people share that same interest.