We're Short One Wheezer Today posted by Jay Amicarella

The world is a Wheezer short today for the first time. Neil, maybe the most beloved of all the Wheezers, and definitely the funniest, is gone, and the surviving members of The Society are grieving, collectively and individually.  I remember a time when I thought anyone in their fifties was ancient.  Now, to lose a friend in this age bracket is to lose a friend way too early.  It is a burnout rather than a fade away.  I'm not ready for a world without Neil Sterett in it, and to say we are diminished is an understatement.    He was truly the Wheeze in the Wheezer Society.

My emotions have been crazily rollercoasting since I got the news, and I've been alternating crying over our loss, and wheezing over different memories of Neil that have been popping, unbidden, into my head.  I remember meeting Neil for the first time my Junior year of high school.  Scott Leverenz brought us together by bringing Neil and his current girlfriend to a party at my house in Hillsboro, Oregon.  That first meeting was inauspicious, as Neil and his girlfriend spent most of the party locked in one of our bathrooms, making out in the tub.  I didn't find out how funny he was until later, at school, when he began holding court at our lunch table, where he never failed to have us wheezing and choking all through the lunch period.  It was here that I heard for the first time his standard line "I've got another one for ya," whereupon he would launch into another comic tirade that would have us all falling out of our chairs laughing. 
His humor was generous and involving.  In our twenties, he would treat guests at my parties to elevator rides:  Neil would gather four or five at a time, stuff them into my front closet, shut the door, and for the next five to ten minutes regale them as a twisted elevator operator at a bizarre, psycho-delic department store. 

Dammit, Neil!  How the hell are we going to have parties or Wheezer get-togethers without you?  You were our drug of choice...it was like 'the real party' couldn't begin until you got there. "Where's Sterett?" was the most  often spoken line by all of us the night of a meeting of the Wheezers.  And it was like the party until you got there was just small talk, a preamble to the real festivities.  And, like a good narcotic, you never once disappointed.  You knew your role was Jester to the King(s), and you Never had an off-night.  Ah, God, I'll miss you...

He was loyal to friends and family.  He was the first guy I knew who actually had a good relationship with an older brother, in his case, Phil, another one of the funniest people I've ever met.  Phil, old friend, Neil always looked up to and admired you, not just for your wit and wisdom, but because you are one of the planet's few genuinely kind people.  God Bless You during this time of loss...

We all knew Neil battled his own personal demons when he wasn't making us wheeze,but, except for a few feeble efforts when we were able to help him ward them off, we seemed powerless to really effect a cure.  He would be broken, and we would be putting on band-aids.  We even joked, including Neil himself, about how he would be the first of us to go, but, oh Neil, not like this, like this... 

Comments

[Chris Gear]

We'll miss you Neil!!! Your old laser disc sci-fi movies will live on in infamy here at MacForce, as will your fond memories of how we were all molded by fantasy and your jokes will be spread over hoisted glasses my friend.

Peace brother...
Chris

[steve lindstedt]

....now, evil clowns will no longer make me laugh, they will constantly remind me of the countless questions that I want to ask....like, WHY??
We shared a common love of many artforms...pen & ink drawing, German electronic music, DEVO, skiing, R. Crumb, bad sci-fi films, and general hi-jinx and slap-stick humor. He was also instrumental in my quest for sobriety.
....many things I could write about Neil Lee Sterett and his influence in my life, I hope to share more with you all very soon.

[susan lindstedt]

Neil was the single funniest man on earth.
I am sad to hear he's gone.