Greggo!

 Greggo!





     He encouraged this nickname that dated back to his time delivering flowers for Uncle Johnny Tassano at the Athletic Club FLower Shop. Greg or Craig had a successful career as an architect while working for some very prestigious firms in the city of Los Angeles (pronounced in the Sam Yorty style with a hard g). When he went off on his own I used to marvel at the thick sets of plans that he would go over with a fine tooth comb to find design blunders that would cost beaucoup francs (term used by his father) to fix once construction was completed. He had skills and a temperment that was suited to such close work. This was part of why he was a patient cook who could follow any recipe and even as a cartoonist that he never tried to develop. Still, I don't think he ever loved any job quite as much as delivering flowers around the city since it gave him freedom to explore and an ability to study the true soul of LA. He told bittersweet tales of visiting the old luxury apartments along 3rd street where lonely widows lived out their quiet desperation or how parsimonious rich people never tipped.  The guy knew cemeteries and mortuaries like most people know places to shop. Yet, this story involves a pair of gay men he befriended in his job while he was sent by the flower shop to pick up flowers when the demand exceeded their stock on hand. Their names were Don and Denny and they were very sweet boys who chose a profession that allowed them to express their "artistic temperment." They had a shop, I believe in the lobby of the Sheraton and Greg knew them well enough that they did not have to hide their true selves. Once he spotted Don necking with a young rival to Denny but kept mum about it since he believed it was not his business. So, the story went that Greg had to stop into the home of Don and pick up something for the flower shop. He was buzzed into the walk up deluxe apartment and when Don saw who it was he shouted gleefully Greggo! I turns out Don was actually wearing a caftan which he modeled with as pirouette while saying "do you like it? I designed it myself!" Despite being one vigorous hetero Greggo complimented his gay friend and liked to repeat the scene with a very accurate portrayal of his dear pantywaist pal. The nickname stuck and Greg was known as Greggo by many in the circle of good men who were in his solar system. My brother to this day always refers to the late and great as Greggo.

                                                                  

                                                                      Greggo!

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