Melancholy

25 Random Things About Sleeford:

1. He was a highly regarded chess Master; he was ranked in the top 40 in the U.S. when he was playing professionally. Jack Peters of the Los Angeles Times knew him and wrote about him in his column shortly after Sleeford died.
2. He spoke a fair amount of French, and could read it as well.
3. He played the flute.
4. He got drafted and served  in the Vietnam war. He was there during the Tet Offensive in 1968.
5. He was a British citizen.
6. He and his family lived in Canada before moving to Los Angeles, but they had to leave because he and his little brother may or may not have burned down an entire housing development by accident.
7. He had beautiful dark blue eyes with long eyelashes that curled up. You could only really notice them when he took off his glasses.
8. He had the best handshake of anybody. It was warm, strong, friendly, and he always looked you right in the eye with a straightforward and honest gaze.
9. He hated olives, except for the fat green ones you got in the martinis at Musso & Franks. (Or maybe he only liked gin soaked olives.)
10. When he laughed really hard, he slapped his thighs with his hands.
11. He lived in a White Panther commune in Berkley during the seventies, and worked in their food bank delivering food to needy families all over the Bay Area. 
12. He couldn't stand his older sister, but really liked her husband and their kids.
13. He was very well read.
14. He went AWOL from the army and got caught a couple years later enmeshed in the LSD scene in San Francisco. They flew him to Indianapolis where he received a "dishonorable discharge" and had to spend a few days in the clink. 
15. He love old black and white movies, especially film noir.
16. He bit his fingernails to the quick.
17. He was in GREAT shape. He was a hiker, and could climb up rocky mountains out in the desert that were scary steep.
18. He never did drugs until he was in Vietnam. He was high on LSD during the Tet Offensive.
19. He knew someone who was in the Mafia. 
20. He was extremely competitive. He beat Sparky at tennis 9 out 10 time simply because he wanted to win more.
21. He loved dogs. He could speak their language. 
22. He was one of those rare good listeners.
23. He never graduated from high school.
24. He outfit of choice was faded Levis, a light grey sweatshirt, and Saucony tennis shoes.
25. He was the best friend The Misers ever had.