Ron Drogo, (spnited), RIP

Welcome to the party.

 

Also: The funeral home was in such a perfectly Jersey neighborhood. Delis and pizzerias around the corner, narrow side streets surrounding the funeral home and a diner that Xan had dinner at just down the road. And I needed about 17 U-turns to get there.

It was Jersey. It was Ron.

 

It pretty much went like that. Glad BYH got it because my mind's been slipping a lot lately.

There was a huge group in back of the room -- Bergen County Record and Star-Ledgerites. Young fellas about our age. BYH and I wondered who among them was SJ or TSD or both yet neither of us really had the cojones to venture over and interrupt their conversations.

Didn't matter, though, because I was happy getting to know BYH. Lots of shop talk.

About that deli ...

See, Janet told me to make a left on Hoboken Street and go to the end. So I did. I turned into a parking lot and walked to the front door, which was wooden, kind of like the one to the Reagle Beagle. And I heard loud music. I thought, "This is a diner?"

Opened the door and walked in and HELLO! Boobies! A stage. A pole. Kaleidoscope lights. Stench of lust and overcharged crotch.

I thought about it for a second -- would Ron care if I stayed for a dance between wakes? -- but decided to walk out immedately and try to figure out where the hell the Meadowlands Diner was. Turns out it was further down the block, another 50 steps.

That said, the place served the best matzo ball soup outside of my mom's. Terrific meatloaf, too.

Thanks, Janet, for the adventure and grub.

 

Awesome that you guys went. Thanks so much for representing us there.

 

xan -- as one of many here unable to attend the wakes or funeral, i want to thank you so much for bringing us such a touching description of the setting, complete with visuals, no less! damn, i hope i get more sleep tonight; worked all day on trying to get outside my head. receiving phone calls from hockeybeat this afternoon and casty this evening were comforting for me and i hope for them.

i've been trying to figure out why ron's death has hit so many of as hard as it clearly has. perhaps several posters regret tossing a few barbs or heated words his way and have a better understanding of spnited's many sides. maybe several of us are doing some soul-searching to grasp why many of us (present company included) choose to let our snarky side rise up and represent who we are to anonymous strangers, emboldened by the freedom our own anonimity allows.

now, i know we're never going to rid this board of all of its tactless banter. but i sure as hell am going to try to give the many extraordinary, faceless friends i've made here a clearer picture of the real me. as i noted earlier, i've really been taken aback by the number of posters who knew the real ron and felt one way about him and only now have learned he was this 'spnited' dickwad full of anger and bitterness.

on those occasions in which i've illicited angry charges, unflattering posts from some of y'all, i have truly been stunned -- because the 'real me' has NEVER been accused of being anything less than a warm, charming, witty, and modest fellow adored by almost anyone he's ever known. so my goal from this point forward is for all my anonymous friends to think as highly of me as my 'real-life' friends do.

and with that, mrs. shockey insists i say, 'good night.' so, 'good night,' my friends.

 

Yes, thanks again guys.

 

Thanks, you two. Was a trip where I wish you didn't have to represent any of us.

 

Thanks for posting that, xan and BYH.

 

Hadn't been on much the last couple of days and just saw this. Sad, sad news. I'm glad some of us here got to represent all of us at the wakes. Thanks for that, guys. RIP Ron.

 

In.

 

I'll say it: A coincidence?

 

It's good to know Ron's wake was well attended. He deserved that.
My dad died almost 3 years ago (I had a thread here on writing his eulogy) under similar circumstances, he was 64, said he had a pain in his neck.
Ron's passing has brought back some tough memories for me.
Wish I could have made it to say good-bye.