“Sometimes I wish that life was never ending,
But all good things, they say, never last.”
From Sometimes It Snows in April
Every Friday, our office has a team-building exercise. No, not EST nor a ropes course nor trust falls—we go for things like mimosas and donuts and maybe a game of Yahtzee. Today was special. Today we said goodbye to someone who is essential, sewn into the fabric of our childhoods, who influenced everyone we ever admired, who was a magical sparkly purple butterfly in a beige, beige world.
According to his Twitter stream, Prince was hospitalized, then came home and threw a massive party for all of Minneapolis, a big affair at Paisley Park with dancing and very, very good cowboy cookies. Then he took to the streets the next day, riding his bike around neighborhoods and saying hi to folks. Now we know what he was up to—he was saying goodbye, surprising us and carrying on, being his wild, wonderful, untamed self.
Our office created an Exquisite Corpse in his memory using Prince lyrics. Goofy, silly, and yet imbued with the elements of rhythm, humanity, and quirky magic that made him special, it seemed a fitting tribute. So we’ll share it with you now:
They say that she might be queen,
Darling, if you want me to
It’s happened before, I knocked on your door.
I took another bubble bath with my pants on.
Get busy big baby, ‘cuz when dem devil come
An affliction brought on by a witch’s curse
…if she could be muse to the Pharaoh.
An affliction brought on by a witch’s curse.
So, in the spirit of Prince, enjoy his memory in your own funky way today. It’s what he would’ve wanted.