RIP Jeff Carlton

good stuff, hustle

RIP Jeff

 

Wonderful story, Hustle.

RIP and my sympathies to his family and friends.

 

No enemies. Fourteen years in the busness. How many of us can say that?

 

Hi All,

As you can see from post number, I'm new to this forum. I'm supremely grateful to whomever began this thread. It helps me in the grieving process to see that so many people knew and liked Jeff and that there were so many funny stories to tell.

I thought I'd share with you my pitiful attempt at a description of the friendship Jeff and I shared. I posted this on the comments section in the blog entry on the News & Record website as well, but I thought maybe a different group of writers would see it here as well.

Thanks for indulging me.

Jim Young
Greensboro News & Record.

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Jeff and I, in many ways, had a real-life version of a Seinfeld friendship. Which is kind of strange, actually, that a “Show about nothing” could be the basis for a relationship that meant so much. But if you knew Jeff, or spent time around the two of us, you’d understand.

His cubicle at the News & Record sat next to mine. In the long stretches between interviews, during the frequent bouts with writer’s block or while trying to avoid tedious transcriptions, we’d engage in conversations that could drift any which way at any moment. Frequently they were about minutiae that would only interest the two of us – what other movies was Yaphet Kotto in besides Live and Let Die? Was there a better villain than James Earl Jones in Conan the Barbarian? Was Sammy Khalifa the only Arab-American to play in the Major Leagues? – but they were always entertaining. They were talks I looked forward to every time I'd walk into the office and he would spin around in his chair to greet me. Our boss, Joe Sirera, used to joke that we could create a radio show just by recording the random conversations Jeff and I had and putting them on the air.

I realize that doesn’t sound like the storybook version of friendship. Jeff never pulled me from a run-away train. I never introduced him to the love of his life. But in the real world – the one that now has a huge, unfillable void in it now that Jeff is gone – this is the true way friendship works: two guys, sitting around, having a conversation about nothing, sharing moments that, when you look back on them, mean everything.

I miss you Jeff. I always will

 

That was a very meaningful tribute to someone who sounds like he was a great guy. Friendships don't have to have defining moments to be good or great.

Definitely don't be a stranger Jim. And RIP Jeff.

 

These moments, where the pure camaraderie rises to the surface, is the greatest aspect of this site, which has plenty of wonderful offerings.

 

Had the pleasure of sitting next to Jeff on a few occasions while traveling through the area. Never knew he had cancer, as I'm probably sure it was a private matter. But talking with him you never would have known he was dealing with his own mortality. That takes a real man to do that.

 

I never knew the man, but it sounds like he was gold. I feel for the family and friends he left behind and the many lives that he touched. I'll definitely hold him in my prayers.

 

Did not know Jeff well but we'd cross paths occasionally. I knew what he was dealing with, and yet he always seemed to have a smile and a kind word. His dignity, with such a burden hanging over him, was an example to us all.