Waiting for Speedway Fowler

For a time during the late 80's, I saw Ralph on more nights than not. Usually he was hanging in the doorway or the phonebooth at his place.

Other people have written their own tributes and I cannot pretend to do justice to them. Suffice to say, Ralph was a decent man who was one of a kind. We shared an interest in diners and several times he called me to see if I was interested in something diner-related he'd come across. Ralph was the guy who turned me on to the Orange Trading Post - back when the Orange Trading Post was cool.

One of the coolest things that ever happened to me - it was a cold night in the winter of '88. I arrived at Ralph's with three friends. The place was packed. There were probably 75 people lined up in the snow waiting to get in. They could only let people in as other people left. Fire codes. Anyways, Ralph was sitting in the entryway halfway between the diner and the nightclub, and every once in a while the door would swing open and you'd get a glimpse of him looking out over the line. At one point the door opened and Ralph caught sight of us in the line. Two seconds later the door opened again and he called out my name and motioned us inside. My friends and I got to walk past about 75 mystified people and Ralph welcomed us with open arms.

He did it just because he thought it was cool.

I will miss him.