John Wallowitch

John Wallowitch’s brief appearance in the diary links a public glimpse of him as a pianist to an intimate family loss. He is the person who brings news that his brother Eddie—the diarist’s first boyfriend roughly twenty-five years earlier—has died alone in Florida.

Piano and Contact

The diary recalls John Wallowitch calling after the diarist had seen him play piano on cable television. The diarist praised the performance and invited him to come to the office. The entry offers no further account of their relationship, but this exchange places Wallowitch in the diarist’s social orbit through his music and a direct invitation.

News of Eddie’s Death

Wallowitch called to say that he had gone to Florida to visit Eddie and found him dead in his house, bloated. According to the account, Eddie had been drinking, had stopped attending Alcoholics Anonymous, and had suffered a fit. The diarist also recalls Eddie as good-looking and a photographer, and says Eddie had often been depressed, though the reason was never understood.

Wallowitch did not want to look at his brother’s body, so a friend came over and identified it. The diary records this practical detail without describing Wallowitch’s feelings; his role in the passage is conveyed through the call, the discovery, and the arrangements made afterward.