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Goodbye,
Alex
When a friend dies, there's little to say beyond the expected condolences that so poorly convey one's feelings. I wish I had something better to say about Alex Madonna's death last week besides the obligatory "I'm so sorry." I am sorry. More than I can say. But I don't really believe it's happened.
That's the funny thing about his passing - it doesn't seem as if he's gone at all. His reach was so great that it found its way into every corner of SLO County and beyond. It seems like I could head over to the Madonna Inn right now and see him at his famous table, the one festooned with awards and congratulatory letters, the phone in his hand and a plate of lunch before him as he talks and laughs quietly with some business associate or movie star.
How could he not be there? How can he never be in front of the Planning Commission again with a development proposal that seems crazy, bigger than life? Or fighting with the city of San Luis Obispo over the next thing he plans to fight with them over? Or raise more money for the Women's Shelter and other good causes? The guy was everywhere, and was for so many years the embodiment of San Luis County - friendly, down-home, caring, hardworking, and prosperous, ready to talk to anyone about anything, even if he disagreed with them. If I possessed only one or two of those qualities, I'd consider myself fortunate.
I hear through the inner-office grapevine that they're reprinting a column of mine I wrote three years ago about Alex. I think it's over on page 15. The editor seems to think it's fitting, but I'm not so sure. What I don't want is anyone to think I'm in some way insulting the man by poking fun at him a week after he's died.
Just as his family kept the inn open on the day of his death because they thought Alex would want it that way, I hope Alex would approve of the reprint, simply because it sums him up in a manner I think is honest and loopy. But here I am worrying about it, when I shouldn't. Alex would like it, even if others disapprove - which sums up his life even better, now that I think of it.
I was reading Silas Lyons' column a couple days ago in the Tribune where he said he thought Cerro San Luis should officially be renamed Madonna Mountain. This is a great idea, even if I didn't think of it first, which I'm sure I would have if I only had.
When you think about it, there's no one else who even comes close to meriting such a distinction, so it's not as if others will be clamoring for equal representation. Besides, the Madonna Inn will be around forever, and so will Madonna Road, and Madonna this and Madonna that - so it's not like some day people will wonder why it's named Madonna Mountain, what with the name already so deeply ingrained in the community.
It's unanimous. Silas thinks it should re-renamed, and so do I. What other official officiating could be needed?
AND IN OTHER NEWS:
There doesn't seem to really be any other news. Alex Madonna's death has
taken over the public consciousness the way his building projects took
over the news.
He used to say things in his quiet, understated manner, that rang true: "Just because you have a man in your sights doesn't mean you have to pull the trigger"; "Hard work is going to get you where you're going"; and "16 times 87? That's easy - 1,392."
I discovered his talent for doing multiplication in his head one day when he was talking to another developer about cost overruns or something like that. He wasn't doing it to show off. He even took the time to show the guy how he could do it, too, but I didn't understand what he was talking about. Two times two is 22 - right?
AND IN YET NO OTHER NEWS:
Again, it's hard to believe he's gone. I don't know when it's going to sink in and I'll accept it. Maybe never, which is okay with me - and if anyone out there wants to be an enabler, feel free to do so.
I'm not a religiously inclined machine, so my thoughts on the afterlife are meager and muddled, my spiritual compass badly damaged. Is there some place beyond? I don't know. But if I did, I'd bet you that at this very moment Alex is talking God into changing the Pearly Gates to a Swiss chalet motif to match the Madonna Inn.
"It's going to be beautiful," Alex is saying. "We'll use huge, granite boulders on each side and build across them - have to pour a deep foundation for support, but that's easy. You're going to love it."
"But we've had it this way for eons," says God.
"All the more reason," says Alex. "Time for something new."
"Speaking of new - you're a new arrival here, aren't you?
Alex says he is.
"Then don't you think it's a bit presumptuous of you to suggest such a change?"
"Let's do this," says Alex. "I'll build it for you - for free. If you really don't like it, I'll change it back. How's that sound?"
I think God's going for it. I also think that if the rest of us are fortunate enough to head that direction some day that we shouldn't worry about the strange surroundings - we'll feel right at home. ³
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