I can guarantee that he will be pestering the powers that be relentlessly and humorously for full access to BTN.
Very sad news to share…
- Thread starter CoralSpringsCat
- Start date
How about some Purple Party Photos my Alaska friend - I know you have them!
Will do.
In the meantime, I came across these photos that brought back a fond memory of FloridAlum.
When I came across this photo I took at Ryan Field it brought back a specific memory of FloridAlum. When I posted it along with the screenshot from the TV broadcast and the photo I took of the Northwestern hair ornament that she had left behind, he was ready to assist in a national search to help reunite the little fan with her piece of memorabilia.
FWIW I still have the item to be returned if someone eventually comes forward identifying its then little owner.
This has been somewhat challenging as I am traveling and the internet connection has made it difficult to upload photos from my Photobucket album. As a work around I have taken photos of the photos which, although of lesser quality, do the job.How about some Purple Party Photos my Alaska friend - I know you have them!
Pictured are photos from the Purple Party hosted by FloridAlum at our game with Vanderbilt in Nashville;
Enroute to the Purple Party who should I chance upon walking across the Vanderbilt campus? Photographed are No Chores and Mrs. No Chores.
Following are the Purple Gang gathered in full force at the BarBQ venue FloridAlum selected for us with FloridAlum, flanked by Waterboy, leading the festivities:
And this is FloridAlum surrounded by the Purple People at the conclusion of the Vanderbilt game as the Wildcats prevailed:
I believe this photo was from the FloridAlum hosted Purple Party at the Meinke Car Care Bowll Game in Houston, Texas:
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From GoUPurple's HailtoPurple.com photo archives I located these photos I took of the Purple Party that FloridAlum put on for us as at the Sun Bowl: (Credit captions to GoUPurple.)
Wildcat parents and fans gather after the game.
The Northwestern Purple Party in full swing.
Another shot of the Purple Party crowd.
Wildcat parents and fans gather after the game.
The Northwestern Purple Party in full swing.
Another shot of the Purple Party crowd.
And scrambling to find the correct channel right up until kickoff! 😇
I'm very very saddened to hear this news. I visited Florida/Jerry in Fort Lauderdale once. Nice house with frog sculputers (not kidding!). What a great man, what a terrific character and boy did he love the Cats and this board.
I will always be grateful how he bent over backwards to show my wife around and make her - as a Non American in addition to a non Northwestern person. He made it a point to have breakfast with her every morning in Detroit at the Motor City Bowl.
I know some boards on some other sites have been renamed after posters who have moved on to a better place. I don't think he would want the football board or anything like that named after him, and I think the rant board was an annoyance more than a joy so not that if it is ever again present, but if any temporary boards are made for bowls or fan related things, I nominate they be named the "Jerry Epstein fan meet up board" or the "Floridalum Pregame Party Board" or something like that.
Just a great man with a great heart that I know we will all remember and cherish.
Go Cats.
I will always be grateful how he bent over backwards to show my wife around and make her - as a Non American in addition to a non Northwestern person. He made it a point to have breakfast with her every morning in Detroit at the Motor City Bowl.
I know some boards on some other sites have been renamed after posters who have moved on to a better place. I don't think he would want the football board or anything like that named after him, and I think the rant board was an annoyance more than a joy so not that if it is ever again present, but if any temporary boards are made for bowls or fan related things, I nominate they be named the "Jerry Epstein fan meet up board" or the "Floridalum Pregame Party Board" or something like that.
Just a great man with a great heart that I know we will all remember and cherish.
Go Cats.
I knew we could count on you my Alaska amigo. Sorry to put you to all this trouble while traveling, but you are the photo king! See you at Homecoming at the Rolling Rock tent where plenty of Art's famous cookies will be waiting 😁From GoUPurple's HailtoPurple.com photo archives I located these photos I took of the Purple Party that FloridAlum put on for us as at the Sun Bowl: (Credit captions to GoUPurple.)
Wildcat parents and fans gather after the game.
The Northwestern Purple Party in full swing.
Another shot of the Purple Party crowd.
This is his sister Carole and I am logged in on my son's account FloridAlumNeph. I was able to get back into this link and I am so glad I did. I had gotten the link and read through it initially. I copied many remarks into a note and in fact I shared many of your comments and sentiments to be used in his eulogy today. My son joined and posted in the rock thread. I posted there and somehow wasn't seeing any more posts so in trying to update I ended up back here. I am not skilled at maneuvering the board, but I'm sure most of you are so you can check the rock for my previous post if you like. Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. He was always excited and telling about his parties but never saw pictures. They say a picture is worth 1000 words and they are much more important to me now. One of them is the best smile I've ever seen of him. I am saving them to my photos and will tag them with the information and the correct dates. I have many more baby pictures than I do of these kinds of pictures. I will cherish them. Today is funeral day and all of the outpouring is uplifting. He will be in his final resting place soon. I'm so glad to know of all of his wonderful friends on this board, with the mutual love you all shared. It really warms my heart. I will continue to check and save all of the sweet comments. He definitely was one of a kind and will be missed!This has been somewhat challenging as I am traveling and the internet connection has made it difficult to upload photos from my Photobucket album. As a work around I have taken photos of the photos which, although of lesser quality, do the job.
Pictured are photos from the Purple Party hosted by FloridAlum at our game with Vanderbilt in Nashville;
Enroute to the Purple Party who should I chance upon walking across the Vanderbilt campus? Photographed are No Chores and Mrs. No Chores.
Following are the Purple Gang gathered in full force at the BarBQ venue FloridAlum selected for us with FloridAlum, flanked by Waterboy, leading the festivities:
And this is FloridAlum surrounded by the Purple People at the conclusion of the Vanderbilt game as the Wildcats prevailed:
I believe this photo was from the FloridAlum hosted Purple Party at the Meinke Car Care Bowll Game in Houston, Texas:
Glad to see this post. He had moved from that home but your comment touched me, as the frog thing was a lot me. I probably sent him a lot of his frog things. It started with a picture we had seen many many years ago that had 33 three toed tree toads. As I recall he liked it and I went back and bought it for him as a surprise. I began to give him frog things but I always tried to make sure they had three toes. Then people thought he liked frogs and others began to give him frogs. They never really knew the backstory I don't think. Thank you for tugging at my heart on this sad day.
Thanks so much for sharing with us. Our thoughts will be with you and your son and the others gathered for today's services.
P.S. I agree that my favorite is also the photo of your brother beaming as we won the game there in Nashville.
P.S. I agree that my favorite is also the photo of your brother beaming as we won the game there in Nashville.
I will be thinking of you and your family today and in the days to come. Thanks for sharing Jerry with us. He was a wonderful friend to me and I will forever miss our conversations. I will miss him greatly. I wish I could be there today but I’ll be there in spirit, as I know Jerry will be.
The frogs are cool.
Now who got Jerry started collecting hideous clown paintings?
I don't know how that one got started. I just know about the frogs as I was influential in that one. Carole
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Alaska, take a look around, there is a great picture of Jerry looking very happy and content and with the nicest smile wearing a purple "court jester" type of coned tophat. I think it was a gift to him for doing on of the parties, El Paso or Detroit. If anyone has that, I think the family might like to get a copy.
Thanks for letting us know about today's service. We were all there in spirit, I'm sure.
Hey Jerry, say hi to FEW and Flag on the Field and good ole Ishmael! Gone too soon but not forgotten!
Go Cats!
Thanks for letting us know about today's service. We were all there in spirit, I'm sure.
Hey Jerry, say hi to FEW and Flag on the Field and good ole Ishmael! Gone too soon but not forgotten!
Go Cats!
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It goes back quite a few years but I think you’re referring to Ishmael rather than Ishtar.
Jerry used the photo you’re talking about as his Facebook profile photo, so I think they have access to it.
As I walked around what remains of Aloha Stadium (where the Cats have played) yesterday I chanced upon this booth at the weekly Wednesday Swap Meet still held there. Definitely brought to mind "The Frog King" as Jerry identified himself on his emails;
Below is another photo I took just a short distance away at Pearl Harbor later in the day. Two of those pictured also had personal connections to FloridAlum and share in the loss. It seemed fitting to spend time there at that national memorial on a day of reflection.
The last time my wife re-encountered Jerry at the Purple Party in Houston he came up to her and gave her a big hug. The other first met Jerry at the original Alamo Bowl when she was close to the same grade school age as her pictured daughter. As I recall Jerry accompanied her and her brother to the nearby bank to deposit funds collected at the direction of that party's host, Far East Wildcat.
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This is the sister, Carole, again. We do have that picture and it also was shared with me again. I think Jerry had given it to me long ago and it is a good one!
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Just landed in Dublin and decided to see if the boards worked here. Saw this news first. Had met Jerry a few times, the first when he organized the ticket block for our game at BC when we “didn’t know” if Persa would start. Absolutely incredible person and my only regret is the grief I caused him on the Rant Board when I pushed the limits.
Very sad news; let’s beat those cornholes in his honor.
Very sad news; let’s beat those cornholes in his honor.
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This is sad news, indeed. Over the course of my life, there are only a handful of people who stand out as utterly unique and memorable, and FloridAlum (AKA Jerry Epstein, Florida, or just FA) was one of them. For me, it has always been easier to remember people by their board handles than their real names. So I will always think of him as FloridAlum.
I encountered his board persona for the first time in 2002, a truly awful season, but his comments and humor seemed to make it better. Back then, if there was little activity on the board, he would try to post something funny just get people into a good mood. Some of his jests worked and some fell flat, but he had an almost unnatural gift for limericks, and I think he could compose a great one on demand within seconds, especially if offered a drink.
I learned a great deal about how to post on a message board by following his example. To my knowledge, he never posted anything negative. Regardless of how bad the season was going or whether half the board wanted to fire this coach or that assistant coach, he was always positive about the team and the program, at least in his posts. On those occasions when I spoke with him in person, he was much more candid in his opinions.
I had the pleasure of having dinner with FloridAlum on a few occasions, and he was always a source of limitless information on recruiting, not only for Northwestern, but also for our conference rivals. Once he got started, he could go on and on about it for hours, and sometimes the bigger problem was getting him to stop.
In person, he was always friendly and chatty, and he seemed to enjoy the company of all Northwestern fans. I believe that if a total stranger showed up at his house one day and identified himself as a Northwestern fan, FloridAlum would stop whatever he was doing and welcome him in.
No one went to the efforts he did to arrange for purple parties and events. I recall a purple party at Merle's in Evanston where a number of board regulars came together. It was supposed to be just a simple get together for dinner, but FloridAlum arranged for Willie the Wildcat to appear, and he even got Let's Tailgate to contribute door prizes. Amazing!
Like many people, things became busier for me over the years, and I attended fewer and fewer of his events. I should have known that somewhere a clock was ticking and that it was only a matter of time before FloridaAlum or some other board member went offline for good. In retrospect, I wish I had attended some of his recent parties. Instead, all I can do now is have a drink in his honor, and for that I will use up the last of my Johnnie Walker Blue, and I hope FloridAlum considers it a fitting tribute.
- Astro
I encountered his board persona for the first time in 2002, a truly awful season, but his comments and humor seemed to make it better. Back then, if there was little activity on the board, he would try to post something funny just get people into a good mood. Some of his jests worked and some fell flat, but he had an almost unnatural gift for limericks, and I think he could compose a great one on demand within seconds, especially if offered a drink.
I learned a great deal about how to post on a message board by following his example. To my knowledge, he never posted anything negative. Regardless of how bad the season was going or whether half the board wanted to fire this coach or that assistant coach, he was always positive about the team and the program, at least in his posts. On those occasions when I spoke with him in person, he was much more candid in his opinions.
I had the pleasure of having dinner with FloridAlum on a few occasions, and he was always a source of limitless information on recruiting, not only for Northwestern, but also for our conference rivals. Once he got started, he could go on and on about it for hours, and sometimes the bigger problem was getting him to stop.
In person, he was always friendly and chatty, and he seemed to enjoy the company of all Northwestern fans. I believe that if a total stranger showed up at his house one day and identified himself as a Northwestern fan, FloridAlum would stop whatever he was doing and welcome him in.
No one went to the efforts he did to arrange for purple parties and events. I recall a purple party at Merle's in Evanston where a number of board regulars came together. It was supposed to be just a simple get together for dinner, but FloridAlum arranged for Willie the Wildcat to appear, and he even got Let's Tailgate to contribute door prizes. Amazing!
Like many people, things became busier for me over the years, and I attended fewer and fewer of his events. I should have known that somewhere a clock was ticking and that it was only a matter of time before FloridaAlum or some other board member went offline for good. In retrospect, I wish I had attended some of his recent parties. Instead, all I can do now is have a drink in his honor, and for that I will use up the last of my Johnnie Walker Blue, and I hope FloridAlum considers it a fitting tribute.
- Astro
Nicely said Astro. For that party at Merle’s he also got Mark Murphy to show up. The only thing we really messed up that time was the game, because that’s when Ben Rapelisberger and Miami of Ohio kicked the shit out of us. He aimed high, even trying on multiple occasions to get Morty Schapiro to attend, but he always had official events he needed to attend surrounding the games.
Thanks for reminding me, Smithee. Mark Murphy (our then Athletic Director and future Packer President) did show up and hang out with us (and not a mega-donor in the group). It tells you something about the memories that FloridAlum helped to create because I have no recollection of the game that day, but I fondly remember the party.
I sometimes forget that I am logged in under my son's account so you may not realize, if I hit the like button, that it is from his sister, Carole. The outpouring of comments are much appreciated and warm my heart. I have continued to check this board for comments and stories and I am copying them and putting them in a note for safekeeping. Many of the earlier comments were even mentioned in his eulogy. I am so proud knowing how many people loved him and what he did. I knew about the message board and I heard him speak of it plenty but seeing the comments now for myself is amazing. I only wish that I had been able to read all these things about him and know how much he was loved before something tragic had to happen. I guess even celebrities have it happen that way. The pictures have been great also. You all have shared some great ones. I have saved them, labeled them and tried to put the correct dates on them. I myself had not seen him in a couple of years because of Covid. He had always spent Thanksgiving at my house in Louisville, Kentucky up until covid and it will not be the same without him there. I to will have a drink in his honor as I pull for Northwestern to win the game. I am visiting my son who graduated from Kellogg so he is also a northwestern alum. Luckily purple is my favorite color anyway. I will proudly wear my northwestern T-shirt that he gave me. It still doesn't seem possible that he is gone. In someways I can fool myself since he lived in Florida and I live in Kentucky but you on this message board had more constant contact with him and I know he will be leaving a giant void. Thanks again for sharing so much. It is a great contribution to me and my family.
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I'm not sure if I got my other entry where it is visible to all of you so I'm doing it again here. I am not as skilled as my brother was in using this message board.
I sometimes forget that I am logged in under my son's account so you may not realize, if I hit the like button, that it is from his sister, Carole. The outpouring of comments are much appreciated and warm my heart. I have continued to check this board for comments and stories and I am copying them and putting them in a note for safekeeping. Many of the earlier comments were even mentioned in his eulogy. I am so proud knowing how many people loved him and what he did. I knew about the message board and I heard him speak of it plenty but seeing the comments now for myself is amazing. I only wish that I had been able to read all these things about him and know how much he was loved before something tragic had to happen. I guess even celebrities have it happen that way. The pictures have been great also. You all have shared some great ones. I have saved them, labeled them and tried to put the correct dates on them. I myself had not seen him in a couple of years because of Covid. He had always spent Thanksgiving at my house in Louisville, Kentucky up until covid and it will not be the same without him there. I to will have a drink in his honor as I pull for Northwestern to win the game. I am visiting my son who graduated from Kellogg so he is also a northwestern alum. Luckily purple is my favorite color anyway. I will proudly wear my northwestern T-shirt that he gave me. It still doesn't seem possible that he is gone. In someways I can fool myself since he lived in Florida and I live in Kentucky but you on this message board had more constant contact with him and I know he will be leaving a giant void. Thanks again for sharing so much. It is a great contribution to me and my family.
I sometimes forget that I am logged in under my son's account so you may not realize, if I hit the like button, that it is from his sister, Carole. The outpouring of comments are much appreciated and warm my heart. I have continued to check this board for comments and stories and I am copying them and putting them in a note for safekeeping. Many of the earlier comments were even mentioned in his eulogy. I am so proud knowing how many people loved him and what he did. I knew about the message board and I heard him speak of it plenty but seeing the comments now for myself is amazing. I only wish that I had been able to read all these things about him and know how much he was loved before something tragic had to happen. I guess even celebrities have it happen that way. The pictures have been great also. You all have shared some great ones. I have saved them, labeled them and tried to put the correct dates on them. I myself had not seen him in a couple of years because of Covid. He had always spent Thanksgiving at my house in Louisville, Kentucky up until covid and it will not be the same without him there. I to will have a drink in his honor as I pull for Northwestern to win the game. I am visiting my son who graduated from Kellogg so he is also a northwestern alum. Luckily purple is my favorite color anyway. I will proudly wear my northwestern T-shirt that he gave me. It still doesn't seem possible that he is gone. In someways I can fool myself since he lived in Florida and I live in Kentucky but you on this message board had more constant contact with him and I know he will be leaving a giant void. Thanks again for sharing so much. It is a great contribution to me and my family.
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I know I have not posted much in the last few years but I decided to break my silence when I saw that Jerry passed away. I have to credit Jerry for making me a better fan and for all the enjoyment and great times he has brought to road trips, tailgates, and bowl games. The many purple parties and game day fun with Jerry (and the rest of the cat pack) were always a welcome sight. When traveling thousands of miles, it was always good to see the familiar faces and I know when Jerry organized something, it was going to be good.
Watching the cats play today remind me of those times. The hope of a good season. A lot of ups and downs but the feel was optimism. That is what I liked about Jerry. I always felt there was something good coming.
Thanks for a great one, Jerry. You will be missed.
Watching the cats play today remind me of those times. The hope of a good season. A lot of ups and downs but the feel was optimism. That is what I liked about Jerry. I always felt there was something good coming.
Thanks for a great one, Jerry. You will be missed.
Just Gary -- Your long-time buddy Brett joined the AstroCat-led Zoom session during the game. Good to "meet" him and an extra bonus to see your post here. Hope to see more from you soon.
I was at that El Paso party, I believe it was at a steak house- great steaks! The UCLA game was a crazy affair- we blew a big lead early on. The ending was equally crazy- UCLA ran back 2 of our onside kicks for td’s- I wonder if that had ever happened in a game before. Fun times! I think my other Purple Parties were in Vegas for the UNLV game and/or in Phoenix for the ASU game. FloridAlum always did a great job.
Hey Willie. It is good to see some of the same people still around. Tbh, my health has not been that great (failed kidneys) and so I retired and live in Arizona now. Nothing life threatening but it does affect me daily. I hope I can add to the board again but at the moment, I cannot make any promises. Still it seems funny to me that the things we use to complain about (Fitz not taking chances in the game with a lead and how we do not put opponents away) are now considered our identity and our strength. Still, I thought it was a great first game (a lot to clean up but much easier with the W) and could lead to one of those magical (and becoming frequent) years.
I can’t wait for the “local” trip to watch NU play in Los Angeles, but that is two seasons away.
I can’t wait for the “local” trip to watch NU play in Los Angeles, but that is two seasons away.
He will be missed . Always reached out to me when he arranged for tickets and parties.
He always spoke very highly of you Jack.
As I walked around what remains of Aloha Stadium (where the Cats have played) yesterday I chanced upon this booth at the weekly Wednesday Swap Meet still held there. Definitely brought to mind "The Frog King" as Jerry identified himself on his emails;
Below is another photo I took just a short distance away at Pearl Harbor later in the day.
Checking back here after the Nebraska game in Ireland. I can add that those of us on the Astro hosted video chat during the game shared our memories of FloridAlum. Sounds like those able to make it to Dublin included FloridAlum in their thoughts, if not the toasts at the Irish pubs there as well.
I did come across this photo apropos to my herein included referenced prior post that included reference to my youngest son and daughter's opportunity to meet and spend time with FloridAlum at the FarEastWildcat hosted Purple Party at the original Alamo Bowl that became the model for the many subsequently FloridAlum Purple Parties.
Pictured are the referenced progeny from that same time frame in our own Jurassic Park backyard with a contemporary dinosaur equivalent intruding.
I can add that Jerry was always willing to facilitate my various contributions over the years toward his organized Purple Parties when I was unable to attend in person. That tradition began with my sending of an Alaskan King Crab to be offered as a prize at the Detroit Bowl. I learned later that Jerry had quite an ordeal finding a hotel's kitchen refrigerator to keep it fresh until the Purple Event.
He would also go to the effort on other occasions to find a surrogate to attend in my place who might not have otherwise been able to come up with the funds to travel to one of the Purple Parties and bowl game. It was Jerry who saw to it that my Moose or otherwise Alaska related door prizes got distributed at Purple Parties along with whatever he could muster from Let's Go Tailgate to contribute.
Two of those pictured also had personal connections to FloridAlum and share in the loss. It seemed fitting to spend time there at that national memorial on a day of reflection.
The last time my wife re-encountered Jerry at the Purple Party in Houston he came up to her and gave her a big hug. The other first met Jerry at the original Alamo Bowl when she was close to the same grade school age as her pictured daughter. As I recall Jerry accompanied her and her brother to the nearby bank to deposit funds collected at the direction of that party's host, Far East Wildcat.
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Jerry and I traveled a lot together to football games. Jerry was great with kids and once kept little kids around us in a cramped airplane entertained while we were stuck on a tarmac for 5 hours (engine backfire, then lost cue in line, then had to go back for more fuel). Everyone was appreciative.
Jerry is very social and was always good at getting random groups of people to laugh at the big guy with whom he was traveling. Traveling with him was like a comedy routine at times, featuring Morey Amsterdam with his sidekick, Mongo. The laughs were usually on me, but did I enjoy, among other things, watching Jerry shamelessly lie his ass off vehemently to rental car agents over their finding some ashes in rental cars. I already mentioned his "concealed weapons" comment to airport security.
I loved my buddy, Jerry, and am having some difficulty accepting that he's gone now. Trips to NU games will not be the same for me without him.
Jerry is very social and was always good at getting random groups of people to laugh at the big guy with whom he was traveling. Traveling with him was like a comedy routine at times, featuring Morey Amsterdam with his sidekick, Mongo. The laughs were usually on me, but did I enjoy, among other things, watching Jerry shamelessly lie his ass off vehemently to rental car agents over their finding some ashes in rental cars. I already mentioned his "concealed weapons" comment to airport security.
I loved my buddy, Jerry, and am having some difficulty accepting that he's gone now. Trips to NU games will not be the same for me without him.
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That reminds me of traveling from our hotel to Lawrence for the season opener against Kansas. It’s pouring rain like Niagara Falls and Jerry can’t drive for shit. I’m already nervous then he starts firing up lung darts continuously but I can’t open the windows. I complain. Don’t get so worked up, he says. I try a different tactic - he’ll have trouble because the rental contract says no smoking in the car and he’ll have to pay a big cleaning fee.
No ****ing way, he says; don’t you remember that smell was already there when we picked up the car but we didn’t really notice until we were well away and it started raining and we had to roll up the windows and it was too far to return the car in that weather ? None of this was true but his adamant persistence with his story wore the staff down when we returned the car at the end of the weekend.
No ****ing way, he says; don’t you remember that smell was already there when we picked up the car but we didn’t really notice until we were well away and it started raining and we had to roll up the windows and it was too far to return the car in that weather ? None of this was true but his adamant persistence with his story wore the staff down when we returned the car at the end of the weekend.
This is Carole again. I had too am having some difficulty accepting that he's gone. I've been reading through our text messages and hoping to find some helpful information, but in it I have found mostly jokes like: Did I ever tell you the difference between a cat and a comma. One is a pause at the end of a clause, and the other has claws at the end of its paws. I have been doing a lot of copying and pasting these days to save things and preserve them to remember him by. It is weird reading them as I feel like I need to reply. I'm not looking forward to going to Florida and cleaning out his belongings which I will do after Labor Day. I'm sure that will make it all the more real. Thank you for your comments. They are much appreciated and most of them are going to be copied and pasted to a note.
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I've never Heard of them called lung darts before but that sounds appropriate. I tried not to bug him about it as he never seemed interested in trying to quit. My husband quit about 14 years ago and still my brother had no interest. I know that was a big part of his demise and I know it was with our father as well. It should be interesting trying to air out his apartment. After he would visit many Thanksgivings and smoke in our garage it would take weeks to get the smell out and out of our cars as well if we left them parked in there. That part I won't miss. So many interesting stories that I didn't know about. Thank you for sharing them. His sister, Carole
This is Carole again. I had too am having some difficulty accepting that he's gone. I've been reading through our text messages and hoping to find some helpful information, but in it I have found mostly jokes like: Did I ever tell you the difference between a cat and a comma. One is a pause at the end of a clause, and the other has claws at the end of its paws. I have been doing a lot of copying and pasting these days to save things and preserve them to remember him by. It is weird reading them as I feel like I need to reply. I'm not looking forward to going to Florida and cleaning out his belongings which I will do after Labor Day. I'm sure that will make it all the more real. Thank you for your comments. They are much appreciated and most of them are going to be copied and pasted to a note.
This is Carole again. I had too am having some difficulty accepting that he's gone. I've been reading through our text messages and hoping to find some helpful information, but in it I have found mostly jokes like: Did I ever tell you the difference between a cat and a comma. One is a pause at the end of a clause, and the other has claws at the end of its paws. I have been doing a lot of copying and pasting these days to save things and preserve them to remember him by. It is weird reading them as I feel like I need to reply. I'm not looking forward to going to Florida and cleaning out his belongings which I will do after Labor Day. I'm sure that will make it all the more real. Thank you for your comments. They are much appreciated and most of them are going to be copied and pasted to a note.
Checking back here after the Nebraska game in Ireland. I can add that those of us on the Astro hosted video chat during the game shared our memories of FloridAlum. Sounds like those able to make it to Dublin included FloridAlum in their thoughts, if not the toasts at the Irish pubs there as well.
I did come across this photo apropos to my herein included referenced prior post that included reference to my youngest son and daughter's opportunity to meet and spend time with FloridAlum at the FarEastWildcat hosted Purple Party at the original Alamo Bowl that became the model for the many subsequently FloridAlum Purple Parties.
Pictured are the referenced progeny from that same time frame in our own Jurassic Park backyard with a contemporary dinosaur equivalent intruding.
I can add that Jerry was always willing to facilitate my various contributions over the years toward his organized Purple Parties when I was unable to attend in person. That tradition began with my sending of an Alaskan King Crab to be offered as a prize at the Detroit Bowl. I learned later that Jerry had quite an ordeal finding a hotel's kitchen refrigerator to keep it fresh until the Purple Event.
He would also go to the effort on other occasions to find a surrogate to attend in my place who might not have otherwise been able to come up with the funds to travel to one of the Purple Parties and bowl game. It was Jerry who saw to it that my Moose or otherwise Alaska related door prizes got distributed at Purple Parties along with whatever he could muster from Let's Go Tailgate to contribute.
Thank you so much for all that you have been sharing. So many fond memories. Many of them still bringing tears to my eyes and seeing those kids is one of them. Even though his shoes were small they will be hard to fill. CaroleChecking back here after the Nebraska game in Ireland. I can add that those of us on the Astro hosted video chat during the game shared our memories of FloridAlum. Sounds like those able to make it to Dublin included FloridAlum in their thoughts, if not the toasts at the Irish pubs there as well.
I did come across this photo apropos to my herein included referenced prior post that included reference to my youngest son and daughter's opportunity to meet and spend time with FloridAlum at the FarEastWildcat hosted Purple Party at the original Alamo Bowl that became the model for the many subsequently FloridAlum Purple Parties.
Pictured are the referenced progeny from that same time frame in our own Jurassic Park backyard with a contemporary dinosaur equivalent intruding.
I can add that Jerry was always willing to facilitate my various contributions over the years toward his organized Purple Parties when I was unable to attend in person. That tradition began with my sending of an Alaskan King Crab to be offered as a prize at the Detroit Bowl. I learned later that Jerry had quite an ordeal finding a hotel's kitchen refrigerator to keep it fresh until the Purple Event.
He would also go to the effort on other occasions to find a surrogate to attend in my place who might not have otherwise been able to come up with the funds to travel to one of the Purple Parties and bowl game. It was Jerry who saw to it that my Moose or otherwise Alaska related door prizes got distributed at Purple Parties along with whatever he could muster from Let's Go Tailgate to contribute.
I know Jerry “fronted” a lot of money for ticket blocks at Duke and minimums at his Purple Parties. I can assure you If any of you stiffed Jerry, by “no showing”, you will be greeted at the Pearly Gates, not only by St. Peter, but by Jerry. He was special in every Cat way
They'll also be a "no show" at the Pearly Gates.
