Requiescat in pace Angelo
There are remembrances you just don’t want to write and this is one I have been dreading for a couple of years now. And honestly this is about the ninth draft of this entry.
How do you sum up the passing of one of your best friends on this planet?
Well I could start with how we met.
We met over a bottle of spirit gum and became instant friends for that strange cosmic reason that you just click with certain people or as Gonzo put it in the Muppet Movie, “There’s not a word yet for old friends who just met”.
It was I think a ChattaCon but I could be wrong when I was helping with the Masquerade and Byron came to ask if I had brought my make-up kit. One of the contestants needed some spirit gum to re-attach their beard that was coming off. I had and brought the bottle over to two amazing costumers who had done this set of Satyrs that were breathtaking. We got to talking and after the contest was done, we got to talking and drinking.
That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship with Jeff and Angelo.
I cannot really talk about Angelo without also talking about Jeff. They were the couple that had the steamer trunk full of papers so that they could do legally what I got when I married Peter. They got married when they finally could. When I heard that the Supreme Court had made marriage the law of the land for all, the first people I thought about were Jeff and Angelo.
We had so many adventures together.
He and Jeff did the heavy lifting on our Beauty and the Beast costume we presented at Magnum Opus Con with me as Vincent from the 80s tv series and my sister Sheila was our Catherine. As I was heading out the door, Angelo stopped me and said, ‘Wait it’s not right yet.’ He looked at me for a moment and grabbed some clean tube socks stuffing and shaping them. He said “Left or Right?” I said, “What?” “Your dick, do you want it to hang to the left or the right?” He then proceeded to make me look like a dude with a left hanging bulge.
He loved Disney. His favorite character was Donald Duck. We went to Disney World a couple of times over the years. The last time we went I was able to get them in free with my Disney pass. We were silly all over the park. I have the pictures from those trips and they still make me smile.
Broadway was another passion we shared. I was really proud that I could get them back stage at Phantom of the Opera and meet Michael Crawford. Theater was something we spoke fluently. I got them a speaking gig at the Yale School of Drama and they gave a lecture on special F/X make-up. They impressed everyone in the room.
Puppetry was a touchstone for all of us. Angelo and Jeff were the creators of Sox with Attitude a Drag Queen puppet show they took all over the place. They were amazing. You can find some of their work on You Tube. The puppets had more and better outfits than Angelo and Jeff had.
He created the badge and card for Peter’s Patreon account. His abilities with graphic design and sound design were amazing. . He could mix anything into anything no matter how different the two pieces of dialogue or music were. It was magical to watch him figure out how to do it. Most of Sean’s parties had graphics designed by Angelo.
He could be a son of b at times. He dug his heels in and it was close to impossible to change his mind. He was right and you were wrong.
But he was Angelo and I loved him very much.
We might not see each other for long periods of time but when we got back together, it is like we were never apart. In jokes were a given. Bad puns and jokes went back and forth.
I love that he had a ‘bullsh*t” button that he would hit when someone gave him an estimate of how much longer he was going to be in this world after he had been diagnosed with cancer. He beat that expired date with great glee and the next one and the next one.
I could tell he was slowing down and getting very tired on many fronts. But he still made the best of the quality of life that he had. There were still quips and jokes. But he kept apologizing for his lack of memory or suddenly forgetting things. And that annoyed the ever loving out of him because he was a brilliant man who mind was betraying him.
He was a smooth talker. He once said that we were lucky he didn’t become a televangelist. He and Jeff did create their own religion called Jeffangelism. He was really good at getting people to donate for various charitable causes. He and Jeff gave a lot back to the community.
I will miss my friend who dragged me along on madcap adventures. He was there for me when my world was crumbling around me. Who would let me call him up and just vent about things I had no control over and it was driving me crazy. Sometimes he gave me ideas and advice and other times he would just let me talk myself out.
He and Jeff had been together for over 30 years, which is a rarity these days. My heart goes out to Jeff who now had to deal with everything that happens when one’s partner dies.
He was a good man, a good friend, and a good human being. We shall not see his like again.
I am grateful I had Angelo in my life.
How do you sum up the passing of one of your best friends on this planet?
Well I could start with how we met.
We met over a bottle of spirit gum and became instant friends for that strange cosmic reason that you just click with certain people or as Gonzo put it in the Muppet Movie, “There’s not a word yet for old friends who just met”.
It was I think a ChattaCon but I could be wrong when I was helping with the Masquerade and Byron came to ask if I had brought my make-up kit. One of the contestants needed some spirit gum to re-attach their beard that was coming off. I had and brought the bottle over to two amazing costumers who had done this set of Satyrs that were breathtaking. We got to talking and after the contest was done, we got to talking and drinking.
That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship with Jeff and Angelo.
I cannot really talk about Angelo without also talking about Jeff. They were the couple that had the steamer trunk full of papers so that they could do legally what I got when I married Peter. They got married when they finally could. When I heard that the Supreme Court had made marriage the law of the land for all, the first people I thought about were Jeff and Angelo.
We had so many adventures together.
He and Jeff did the heavy lifting on our Beauty and the Beast costume we presented at Magnum Opus Con with me as Vincent from the 80s tv series and my sister Sheila was our Catherine. As I was heading out the door, Angelo stopped me and said, ‘Wait it’s not right yet.’ He looked at me for a moment and grabbed some clean tube socks stuffing and shaping them. He said “Left or Right?” I said, “What?” “Your dick, do you want it to hang to the left or the right?” He then proceeded to make me look like a dude with a left hanging bulge.
He loved Disney. His favorite character was Donald Duck. We went to Disney World a couple of times over the years. The last time we went I was able to get them in free with my Disney pass. We were silly all over the park. I have the pictures from those trips and they still make me smile.
Broadway was another passion we shared. I was really proud that I could get them back stage at Phantom of the Opera and meet Michael Crawford. Theater was something we spoke fluently. I got them a speaking gig at the Yale School of Drama and they gave a lecture on special F/X make-up. They impressed everyone in the room.
Puppetry was a touchstone for all of us. Angelo and Jeff were the creators of Sox with Attitude a Drag Queen puppet show they took all over the place. They were amazing. You can find some of their work on You Tube. The puppets had more and better outfits than Angelo and Jeff had.
He created the badge and card for Peter’s Patreon account. His abilities with graphic design and sound design were amazing. . He could mix anything into anything no matter how different the two pieces of dialogue or music were. It was magical to watch him figure out how to do it. Most of Sean’s parties had graphics designed by Angelo.
He could be a son of b at times. He dug his heels in and it was close to impossible to change his mind. He was right and you were wrong.
But he was Angelo and I loved him very much.
We might not see each other for long periods of time but when we got back together, it is like we were never apart. In jokes were a given. Bad puns and jokes went back and forth.
I love that he had a ‘bullsh*t” button that he would hit when someone gave him an estimate of how much longer he was going to be in this world after he had been diagnosed with cancer. He beat that expired date with great glee and the next one and the next one.
I could tell he was slowing down and getting very tired on many fronts. But he still made the best of the quality of life that he had. There were still quips and jokes. But he kept apologizing for his lack of memory or suddenly forgetting things. And that annoyed the ever loving out of him because he was a brilliant man who mind was betraying him.
He was a smooth talker. He once said that we were lucky he didn’t become a televangelist. He and Jeff did create their own religion called Jeffangelism. He was really good at getting people to donate for various charitable causes. He and Jeff gave a lot back to the community.
I will miss my friend who dragged me along on madcap adventures. He was there for me when my world was crumbling around me. Who would let me call him up and just vent about things I had no control over and it was driving me crazy. Sometimes he gave me ideas and advice and other times he would just let me talk myself out.
He and Jeff had been together for over 30 years, which is a rarity these days. My heart goes out to Jeff who now had to deal with everything that happens when one’s partner dies.
He was a good man, a good friend, and a good human being. We shall not see his like again.
I am grateful I had Angelo in my life.