Remembering JewWario

I’ve been going back and forth on whether or not to blog about this, especially since it doesn’t even feel real at this time. But, everyone is doing this, so I might as well give my thoughts on the matter. If you haven’t heard, then I apologize greatly for having to be the bearer of bad news, but Justin ‘JewWario’ Carmical passed away, after committing suicide in his home. And I first heard about it on Twitter in a tweet from Sean Faust, and when I saw that, I practically went into hysterics trying to figure out what in the hell happened, how it happened, and so on. And then the tears came, and believe it or not, I don’t really cry that much. I just don’t. I mean, I get sad to the point where post people do cry, but I just don’t cry that often. I don’t really know why.

I never met J-Dub in person. I DO recall a kind of conversation we had on Twitter, where I was feeling absolutely terrible because the blog wasn’t working out, I was getting ready to call it quits on my show, and…I don’t remember what he said, but I do remember that it made me feel WAY better about everything. And that’s what he did with everybody: He made everyone feel instantly better about whatever was going on with their lives. And, I wanna share something with you all. This is a quote from when he was closing You Can Stream This that PinkRangerWannabe shared on Tumblr last year, and I’ll never forget this quote, when he was looking right at the screen, and he said this…

• Justin Carmical aka JewWario or JDub “You Can Stream This” 3/8/13 (pinkrangerwannabe.tumblr.com)

But yeah, I’ve been sad, trying to wrap my mind around it, been trading stories with friends. I actually sat in on a Skype call with DodgerofZion, PinkRangerWannabe, RiddlePanda, Gomer, Viga, Tom Hyre from MAGFest, and a few others where we did both of those things. And as I’m writing this, I’ve been listening to Nash’s impromptu stream of Radio Dead Air (thank you, new computer), where him, Dodger, Birdman, Linkara, MarzGurl, Roo, Welshy, and many more have been doing the same. But the part that hit me most, that made me realise just how much he meant to us, and has really helped me feel better…Anybody that watches J-Dub’s stuff and follows him on Twitter, you probably know Katie Marie, or Kitty as we call her. She is pretty much THE JewWario fan. He was her #1 crush and her best friend rolled up into one. And somebody started a GoFundMe to raise the money to get her out to where he and his family lived for the funeral, which required about $850, and shortly after it was brought up on Nash’s stream, it was fully funded. That showed how much our fandom can be like a family, and I didn’t think a single act could out-do that in terms of how good people can be…and then Katie told us all that she was donating the money to Justin’s family instead, because they needed it more. That amazed me, and honestly, I felt like Justin would be so proud of her, and that maybe he still lives on through her and anyone else that can be that kind.

Justin should always be remembered as someone who was kind to everyone he met, who made everyone feel like they could be the absolute best they could be, and was practically Superman mixed with Mister Rogers mixed with Kamen Rider in just how GOOD he was. And J-Dub, I wish one more time, I could see ya in the Jareth costume doing your Dance Magic Dance with your magic balls. Thanks, Justin.

Related articles

• For Justin’s Family (gofundme.com)
• On Justin… (nashscribblings.tumblr.com)
• JewWario (youtube.com)
• TWiG tribute to JewWario (thisweekingeek.net)