All night I've been trying to bring myself to listen to a Cramps record, but I just can't quite do it. As I'm sure you've read, Tweeted, or texted by now, Lux Interior has died.

As the Luddite I am, I wasn't on Twitter, online, or even on the phone. I was sitting in a chair, listening to the birds and the sound of traffic go by through an open window when a friend texted me from Europe to tell me Lux had passed. At first I thought it was a cruel joke, because about 20 years ago, there was another widespread rumor that Lux had died. Cramps fans are a cynical bunch.

So I went to the interwebs, which don't lie, and logged into my longest running yahoo group, staysick@yahoogroups.com, where the boards were going crazy - sadness, disbelief, swearing, links, photos, you've got it. As usual, all the virtual vomit made me a little sick, so I retreated into my brain.

And since the internet is all about random sharing, here are two of my favorite Cramps memories:

1) Halloween at the Warfield in San Francisco, probably 1996 or 1997. I wore a fur bra and skin tight black capris with black patent stiletto heels. So many drunk guys hit on me the guy I was with had to defend my honor four times just walking from the car. He turned out to be a jerk, so I'm glad he had to pay for the tickets and $25 bucks to park. That was an amazing show.

2) The Cramps in Tijuana. I am not even going to try to remember the year, but it was late 80s, at a night club that is now gone. Sabrina and I drove to TJ with some of the Black Hole crew to see the Cramps. I guess if you'll follow a band to another country, you're a fan. When Lux took the Mexican flag and stuffed it down his pants, a small riot broke out. I didn't think we'd get back to America alive. That was another amazing night.

Now Lux is gone, and I don't have any words, but I do have the music and the memories. Thanks, Lux.

Maybe Bobby Brom said it best over at Staysick: "We named our now eighteen year old daughter 'Ivy' .. she attended her first Cramps concert on my shoulders when she wasn't quite three - she would not let me take her down the entire show, my shoulders ache still. I'm starting to feel I've lived too long myself lately."