The Fray, Scrubs, and Power Hours

Earlier this summer, I went to a concert to see The Fray at Pier 17 in New York City. Their big song, of course, is “How to Save a Life.” Most people associate this with Grey’s Anatomy. But for me, I will always associate it with Scrubs.

Kevin was always a big fan of Scrubs, and so was I; it was one of the first things we bonded over. There’s a pivotal episode of Scrubs, “My Lunch,” where the song plays in the last 3 minutes of the episode as everything goes wrong. Kevin loved to watch this episode, especially at the end of a Scrubs Power Hour ™.  

For those of you who don’t know, a Power Hour is 60 minutes of drinking where you have to take a shot of beer every minute, on the minute. The original concept was to pair it was a 60-minute song playlist, where each song lasted a minute. It was a fun way to pregame and made drinking a 6 pack in an hour much easier.

 One day, Kevin, Matt Palmer (another big scrubs fan), and I were hanging out and re-imagined the power hour as a Scrubs watch along. 3 episodes were about 60 minutes long. While trying to decide which episodes to watch, Kevin suggested we end with My Lunch. I thought that would be a bit of bummer, since it’s a heavy episode and we were trying to go out (nothing gets 3 guys ready to go out like a good cry), but Kevin insisted. And so, a tradition was born: we could watch any 2 episodes first, but we always had to end with My Lunch. Over the years, we would continue to do them, even doing one on a trip to visit Kevin in SF.

I can’t say for sure why Kevin loved that episode so much, but I think it had something to do with Dr. Cox, a character who was supposed to be so strong, being brought to his most vulnerable moment, played amazingly by John C. McGinley. I think Kevin was in awe of the performance, and the gravity of the episode resonated with him. I think it also was his way of embracing feelings and emotions, letting his guard down, and teaching us that it’s OK to cry and laugh together, sometimes both at the same time.

And so, as The Fray broke into the song, I was flooded with memories, but happy & painful. It took me back to being on a large futon in Manhattan, drinking beers together as we laughed for 57 minutes and then cried for 3. It took me back to a time shared with a best friend, a brother, but it also helped me feel closer to Kevin on that day. It’s little things like this that keep Kevin alive in our minds & our hearts.

So I’ll just end with this: #KEVSFOREVS.