In Memory of Our Good Buddy Tom Dyke

Click HERE after you read the stories below - you will be taken to some pictures of Tom that I'd like to share.  If you keep clicking on a picture, it will get bigger - enjoy.  If you have some pictures you'd like to share and have on this site, please send them to me by email.

Sadly, our very fine friend Tom Dyke passed away in May of 2007.  Although we will miss Tom tremendously, I just want to share just a couple stories that reflect the manner in which I will always remember Tom.  I have a million recollections of excellent times with Tom, but I’ll be brief for a change.

Story 1

Cathy, Tom & I were having brunch down in Long Beach, CA at an outdoor fish market.  It was a Mexican environment with Mariachi bands and margaritas.  After eating, we strolled about looking at the various “art” exhibits.  Actually, we were looking for a bar to enjoy a cold pint and we had to walk past this one particular piece of “art” to get there.  The piece of “art” I refer to was that of was a velvet Elvis wall mural.  Cathy’s comment was, “Who’d be tacky enough to have a velvet anything hanging on their wall?”  And off we went to have our cold pint.

Later that year we flew up to Calgary to visit with Tom & his family and to take in the Calgary Stampede.  Tom was gracious enough to have us stay at his house.  So what’s one of the first things we see when we enter – oh yea, a velvet card-playing-dog velvet mural hanging on the wall.  Tom, in character, said nothing but then we all started laughing so hard we had tears coming down our faces.  I still crack up whenever I think of that one.

Story 2

Tom was down for a visit when we lived in Redondo Beach, CA.  Our good friend Bob Salmon (known forever as Tuna) was flying in for a visit at the same time.  Both Cathy & I were tied up at work and we asked Tom if he’d mind picking Tuna up when his flight came in.  Naturally Tom agreed to do so.  Tom asked, “So how will I know what Tuna looks like?”  That was a fair question. 

Well, in those days it was possible to walk up to the plane and greet passengers as they exited the aircraft.  I handed Tom a can of tuna which he held up when Tuna got off the plane.  The connection was made right away and we all laughed hard about that one throughout the years. 

That was Tom.  A great guy who was always fun to be with.