MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
So many of us are stuck in our homes dwelling on the distance between ourselves and the things we love.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
And so it seems fitting today to remember a man who reminded us that wonder and joy can be found right outside your window.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PAUL VASQUEZ: Whoa. Oh, my God. Oh, my God (laughter). Oh, my God. Woo (ph). Oh, wow.
KELLY: That was January 8, 2010. Paul "Bear" Vasquez looked outside his home near Yosemite and saw a double rainbow, which he just had to capture on video.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
VASQUEZ: Oh, my God. It's a full-on double rainbow all the way across the sky. Oh, my God.
CHANG: The video and Vasquez's unselfconscious sense of awe struck a chord. Tens of millions watched. It was an early viral hit. He went on talk shows, made appearances in commercials.
KELLY: But he kept life simple. In a 2015 interview with CNN, he said he didn't have much money, but he felt rich. He said he never considered selling ads on the video.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
VASQUEZ: I wanted to gift my most popular piece of work to humanity. It's like here. Here's my heart. Here's my best thing that I ever made, and you can have it for free.
CHANG: Paul "Bear" Vasquez died over the weekend. He was 57 years old. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.