A couple of notes about George… I always looked forward to reading his e-mails. There was a certain “Jean Shepherd”-like air to them. They would start with the topic at hand, but then meander all over the place. If the subject was radio-related, they would start there but maybe then make some reference to a political or economic matter or a story bout a community like Intercourse, PA or Tomatotown, OH that seemed to have nothing to do with radio. If the subject, as it often could be, was Ohio’s economic situation, you could count on a reference to our DXing world, its personalities, maybe a piece of equipment or some radio history — again seemingly not at all germane to the original topic.
But, like Mr. Shepherd, all was and always would be tied up nice and neatly with the last sentence or two. How he got there, I never knew. But in the end it always made sense (especially to George) and never failed to entertain. My second remembrance is as a privileged part of his “act” as master of ceremonies at the Winterfest raffle and other radio-related festivities. The cheesehead, the googles, the little Pancho doll, the Barto Bag, the Barto Box — all of it developed over time, like the act of most great stand-up comedians. But a little note about the goggles: George could see very little through them. As Rich, Alan and I would carry up prizes and the prize winning tickets to George, we usually had to tell him what he had and whose name—or number or ham call sign-- was on the ticket. And then it was off to the races — usually like the Marx Brothers’ day at the races full of non-sequiturs, inside jokes (which we all were a part of) and various foolishness. But the goggles were an integral part of the act and they were not coming off until the last prize was awarded. At least when they worked, he got sort of a head massage out of them. I came to understand over time that George possessed a certain amount of stage fright or at least some serious misgivings about being an MC. Yet, you’d never know it to watch him both metaphorically waltz magnificently and then trip over his own feet — sometimes simultaneously and always on purpose. George was an immensely intelligent man who was always willing to play the fool if he could entertain his friends. Despite those misgivings about being an MC — he seemed so unnerved at times that he was almost to the point of exhaustion by the end — he never let us down when we asked. He could talk passionately about economics using terms and discussing theories that only the most learned could understand and then perform slapstick comedy a few seconds later. We’re all going to badly miss George. I know I am. I can picture him explaining the Ohio economic situation, using DXing terms, with the Almighty, who will just give him a free pass. John Figliozzi _______________________________________________ Swlfest mailing list Swlfest@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swlfest To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to swlfest-requ...@hard-core-dx.com?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL shown above. For more information on the Fest, visit: http://www.swlfest.com http://swlfest.blogspot.com
