Earlier this month I broke some news about my friend and former fraternity brother/ housemate Jonathan Michaels, known to the brothers of the AEPi Psi Chapter as Slobo.
I published a screenshot from the website of the New Montefiore Cemetery in West Babylon, NY that another of our brothers had found during the course of the sleuthing some of us had commenced since becoming aware of his seeming disappearance in January 2023. Not only was Jon dead, according to the cemetery’s website, he had been dead for more than five years — having passed on November 15, 2019.
Word quickly spread around our collegiate community and was met with complicated emotions: shock, confusion, sorrow, regret. How could this have happened? How could we have not known? What was the cause? What could we have done?
In a quest to quench our collective curiosity, our mutual friend Lissy contacted the cemetery and ordered a photograph of the headstone. Her request came back with an unusual caveat: a photograph would not be forthcoming, as there was no headstone.
If we were searching for answers to help us find closure, our findings were merely prompting more questions.
Slobo would have turned 40 on March 4. I was ticketed for a flight set to depart on March 6 from New York to Los Angeles where I planned to spend the next couple of months. That explains my impulsive decision to drive out to Long Island on March 5 to wish my gone-too-soon old friend a happy birthday while getting a firsthand account of his eternal place of rest.
My Kafkaesque visit to the cemetery to see Slobo was documented in today’s episode of The 40-Year-Old Podcaster, a follow-up to Ep. 05 (to which I would suggest listening first). Without giving too much away, I will simply say… this story is far from over.
EDITOR’S NOTE: New information has since come to light since this episode was recorded. Stay tuned for Part 3, and perhaps a resolution.
Music used in this episode: “Doctor Fine” by Bob Seger; “Field of Sorrow” by Galt McDermott; “V-O” by Chico Hamilton; “Kaddish” by the Moscow Ensemble of Jewish Instrumental Music
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