[Leica] Remembering Sal...

[rclark01 at comcast.net (rclark01@comcast.net)]

The first time I met Sal was at a camera store in Bryn Mawr down near Jim 
Shulman's place.  My wife and I went there at Jim's invitation...a great guy 
whom I had met the previous January at Steve LeHuray's last gathering in DC. 
 When I walked in and saw this larger than life guy with the Leica attire 
holding court and talking to anyone who would listen, I walked right up and 
introduced myself. He replied with a hearty hello and that he was finally 
glad to meet me being I had posted a few times and was from Lancaster...an 
area he knew well.  Wow...Sal glad to meet me?  He took a look at my Leica 
gear and inquired about  my interests and generally was the great terrific 
guy we know him all to be.  Soon, Jim suggested we go to lunch so several of 
us walked down the street to a Thai restaurant where two hours of enjoying 
lunch and listening to Sal's storied went by in a flash.  I especially 
remember him talking about meeting and getting to know Alfred Eisenstadt and 
how Sal ran with the big dogs of the political world.  What a 
treat.....then, last November good ole Jim invited a bunch of us down to his 
place again for a great dinner (Phong, Kyle, Sal, and many others) and 
another fun night of talking, laughing, and mostly, enjoying Sal's company.  
When the evening was over, Sal and I rode the elevator down together talking 
about the  main line and his youth in the Philadelphia area.  Last time I 
saw him, he was walking away with a box of lasagna headed towards his 450SL 
coupe and with a hearty smile, a big laugh, and a happ goodbye, he blended 
with the darkness and, to me into my memory.  Thanks Sal, Jim and to all the 
guys in the  PLUG for bringing me into the fold and accepting me into the 
group.  Sal was larger than life and I miss him.  Happy snaps forever.

Robert Clark
Lancaster, PA


> On 6/15/04 <red735i@earthlink.net (Frank Filippone)> thoughtfully wrote: 
> 
> >
> >I feel this is a family of a special kind.  We feel loss for those we do 
> >not
> >know, never met, or otherwise had no real relationship with.  Are we
> >softies?  Are we losing it?  No.  We feel the pain of our members as if it
> >were our own brother/sister/friend.
> >
> >A period of reflection?  Maybe.  Maybe it is all ganging up on me.
> >
> 
> No....not softies....human.
> 
> On-line communities like these are "hot mediums". They are also rare and
> difficult to form.
> 
> People share quite openly here. Yeah we fight and bitch and complain and 
> get our
> drawers in a bunch. But it's SAFE to do that here. It all blows over, and 
> we
> (mostly) respect each other in the morning.
> 
> So it's very natural to experience very real feelings when bad things 
> happen to
> members of our community. Those feelings, that passion, is our strength. 
> And
> it's what makes it possible to write to the group about the passing of 
> one's cat
> or dog or spouse: because even though many of us have never met...we still 
> CARE.
> 
> That's the important thing. 
> 
> The human thing.
> 
> The essential thing.
> 
> Adam
> 
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