‘Nooner’ sleeps with the fishes

Dammit! Feeling devastated. I just learned (via social media) that my best friend in Oregon, Tim “Nooner” has died.

This one really hurts

It was the early 1990s. I lived alone in Portland, and often felt isolated, nearly 3,000 miles away from my family and friends.

Tim and I were co-workers, he was a semi-reformed hippie with a hearty laugh and a wide smile. He had an awesome sense of humor and was a skilled woodworker, originally from Eugene, Ore.

He was a few years older than me but took me under his wing and befriended me almost from the first moment I arrived as a transplant from Nashville, Tenn.

The first thing he said to me was, “you don’t talk like a southerner”

I told him I was originally from Maine. He lit up. “That’s fantastic!” and then gave me a bear hug.

He introduced me to The Acropolis, a local steakhouse that was also a . . . (If you’re from Portland, you know where I’m going with this.) I was blown away. It became a favorite haunt.

Tim and I would passionately argue about politics. He was pretty far left and struggled with my Libertarian perspectives, but man we had a good time.

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“You can’t go through

life broke and bald.”

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He accompanied me as I explored Oregon’s coast during long weekends. I fell in love with Cannon Beach and Lincoln City. It always felt so weird to see the sun set on the ocean. It took me a while to get used to that.

It was during my time living in Oregon that I wrote my first novel (self-published). The Upper Deck Dreams. Tim read an early draft and said he found it fascinating and troubling.

“You need to lighten up,” he laughed. “We need to get you laid.”

A little more than a year after I arrived in Oregon, Tim was helping me pack. “You need to go home,” he said. “Keep writing and do your best to make more money at it.” You can’t spend the rest of your life broke and bald.”

Fuck. I miss you Tim a.k.a Nooner. Give the angels hell, my friend.

P.S. I’m still bald and broke, but having lots of fun

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