Al Davis: I wish I knew the story of your life after I last saw you, and I wish I knew of your death. I hope they were both peaceful journeys.
As kids, you were an inspiration and a fascination to me. Your talent was enormous, your inventive creativity, endless. You made art from the stuff of our day-to-day lives - a Warholesque four-foot-long stick of Teaberry gum comes to mind; a ShopVac-powered calliope; locking jewelry boxes made from sheet metal and solder...
There were late nights of watching in amazement as you took pen to paper, and drew cartoons - not just goofy ones, but complex, sophisticated, professional quality artwork. It was mysterious magic to me, how you did it.
And there was music, which came to you as freely as breath. You were in the very first self-organized band I was ever in, and you were great. You helped give me the guts to do it. As it happens, my old pal, I went on to lead a life propelled and framed to this day (March 27, 2015) by the performance of music. I have thought of you often. You were a natural.
And you were funny, man. We had a lot of laughs. A lot.
You were a complicated and multi-faceted kid, and I can only imagine that your life was anything but a bore. I hope that, within it, you were able to find fulfillment.
You had an impact on my young life. I wish I had gotten to tell you. Rest in peace, Al.
Tom Lee (1971)
Al Davis: I wish I knew the story of your life after I last saw you, and I wish I knew of your death. I hope they were both peaceful journeys.
As kids, you were an inspiration and a fascination to me. Your talent was enormous, your inventive creativity, endless. You made art from the stuff of our day-to-day lives - a Warholesque four-foot-long stick of Teaberry gum comes to mind; a ShopVac-powered calliope; locking jewelry boxes made from sheet metal and solder...
There were late nights of watching in amazement as you took pen to paper, and drew cartoons - not just goofy ones, but complex, sophisticated, professional quality artwork. It was mysterious magic to me, how you did it.
And there was music, which came to you as freely as breath. You were in the very first self-organized band I was ever in, and you were great. You helped give me the guts to do it. As it happens, my old pal, I went on to lead a life propelled and framed to this day (March 27, 2015) by the performance of music. I have thought of you often. You were a natural.
And you were funny, man. We had a lot of laughs. A lot.
You were a complicated and multi-faceted kid, and I can only imagine that your life was anything but a bore. I hope that, within it, you were able to find fulfillment.
You had an impact on my young life. I wish I had gotten to tell you. Rest in peace, Al.
Tom Lee, WHS '71