Remembering Max Bromley
The Sea Runners, Sleder's Family Tavern, Bill Staines, Albert Pujols, Fan Finale
Welcome to the second issue of my weekly newsletter. I hope you enjoy the picks and pics.
This edition is dedicated to the memory of my friend and colleague, Max Bromley. who passed away suddenly on July 5, 2022. Max and I both started working at Digital Equipment Corporation in 1983. Max worked for me at DEC and Compaq from 1988 through 2001. We shared a love of walking, reading, good food, music, and especially, humor.
Barb and I drove to northern Michigan this past weekend for the second celebration of Max’s life with family and friends, this one in Traverse City, Max’s home town. I shared a few memories at this gathering, as I did at the previous one held in Ann Arbor, Max’s adopted town. There was an outpouring of love for Max at both events.
Book Best Bet
During one of our walks together, I recommended the books of Ivan Doig to Max. Doig is one of my favorite authors, and I have read all of his books. The one that I suggested to pick up first is The Whistling Season, but Max couldn’t find it at the library, so he checked out The Sea Runners instead. It’s written in a very different style from Doig’s other books. I found it exciting to read, but Max did not love it. It was about a canoe trip, and as a self-described outstanding canoeist, at least he liked that part.
From Amazon: Based on an actual incident in 1853, award-winning author Ivan Doig’s The Sea Runners is a spare and awe-inspiring tale of the human quest for freedom. In this timeless survival story, four indentured servants escape their Russian Alaska work camp in a stolen canoe, only to face a harrowing journey down the Pacific Northwest coast. Battling unrelenting high seas and fierce weather from New Archangel, Alaska, to Astoria, Oregon, the men struggle to avoid hostile Tlingit Indians, to fend off starvation and exhaustion, and to endure their own doubt and distrust.
Restaurant Recommendation
Sleder's Family Tavern 717 Randolph St. Traverse City, MI 49684
After the celebration for Max at The Boardman River Nature Center in Traverse City on Saturday, Max’s wife Sandy invited everyone to dinner at Sleder’s. Established in 1882, it is Michigan’s oldest, continuously operated restaurant.
Barb and I shared a half-dozen chicken wings tossed with spicy hot sauce. I had the seasoned steak salad, a 6-ounce grilled steak served on a bed of lettuce with shredded cheddar, cucumber, tomato, carrots, onion, and raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Barb had the lake perch basket, lightly dusted and deep-fried perch with French fries and coleslaw. The food and the service were outstanding, and we had a great time reminiscing with Max’s friends and family.
Marvelous Musician
Max loved music and attended many of the house concerts that Barb and I host. He often accompanied me to concerts at The Ark and Green Wood Coffee House in Ann Arbor and Trinity House Theatre in Livonia, Michigan.
I first learned of the late Bill Staines from Nanci Griffith's introduction to "Roseville Fair" on One Fair Summer Evening. After hearing Wild Wild Heart on the Rounder Folk 1 compilation cassette, I bought most of his albums and grew to love his singing and songwriting. I saw Bill multiple times at The Ark and always enjoyed his soothing voice and friendly manner. Based on his songs, I figured that he must be from Texas or a western state, but he was actually a New Englander. Here is my playlist of favorites:
River by Bill Staines
The last two verses and the chorus of this song were printed in the program for the two celebrations of Max’s life. The song is fitting given Max’s love of floating on and cleaning up rivers, including the Huron, the Betsie, and the Boardman.
Someday when the flowers are blooming still
Someday when the grass is still green
My rolling waters will round the bend
And flow into the open seaSo, here's to the rainbow that's followed me here
And here's to the friends that I know
And here's to the song that's within me now
I will sing it wherever I goRiver, take me along in your sunshine, sing me a song
Ever moving and winding and free
You rolling old river, you changing old river
Let's you and me, river, run down to the sea
I included “River” in the playlist I created as a tribute to Max:
Sports Star
Max did not share my love of sports, but he did have a tie to St. Louis, a great baseball town where Barb and I lived for many years. He was a key team member of DEC’s Client Server Resource Center led by my friend Janet Johnson, based in St. Louis.
Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals started a remarkable hot streak on July 5, 2022, the day Max died. He finished his final season hitting .270 with 24 home runs and 68 RBIs.
Albert’s career ended on Saturday when the Cardinals were eliminated by the Phillies. He went 2 for 4 in his final game. A sure first-ballot Hall of Famer, Albert finished his career at number 2 in RBIs with 2,218, number 4 in home runs with 703, and number 10 in hits with 3,384. He went out on a high note, hitting his 699th and 700th homers in Los Angeles on September 23, 2022.
My son Roger wrote several stories about Albert’s kindness and generosity, and met him at Busch Stadium in St. Louis in 2008.
Picture Pun
Max had a wicked sense of humor, and we loved trading quips and puns. He would have had a quick retort to the one below.
I was going to take this home, but I was too exhausted.
