Paul is dead

On the lower left corner you'll see a hexagonal building located at the intersection of Rt. 59 and South Airmont road in Suffern, NY. Across the street from the old Airmont school, this used to be the home of Empire Savings bank.

I know this because my mother was a teller there and helped customers via the drive thru service. One of those customers a was gentle, older man who always had a kind word for my mom. His name was Les Paul. The legendary Les Paul who passed away yesterday.

As you might have guessed, not many celebrities came through Suffern, so my mom was always quite taken when he came to the bank. Les Paul and my mom were not friends, but they were on a first-name basis, which makes his passing quite sad.

Had I any wits about me such a long, long time ago, I would have purchased a Gibson Guitar, stuffed it in my mom's station wagon and had it autographed by Mr. Paul. Then I could have waited 30 years, sold it on e-bay and financed my daughter's college education.

And that's even sadder.