Friday, November 30, 2018
Alton was the first person I met when I moved to Chicago in 2015. Sadly I found out yesterday that he had passed away at the age of 68. After 3 years of saddling up next to him at The Dram Shop (Local Chicago Dive Bar) I became extremely close to him. He would share stories of noodling catfish in Missouri growing up. I later found out that it was just a euphemism for other things, but it was nonetheless fascinating. Every birthday he would give me a silver dollar or sometimes random Cuban bills from the 60’s. I never found out why, but it was a lovely gesture. Fittingly, if you google map The Dram Shop and wander in you are met with a man clapping at a TV for no apparent reason. It is that image alone that makes me smile when I think of Alton. A rascal that would tell you the same story 7 times in a week. Maybe it was the gin, but his words of wisdom would always put a smile on my face. A man with the biggest heart you will ever meet & I thought I should pay tribute to a gentleman that I will never forget.
Vale Alton.
