Vern, Baby, Vern

This week's blog is from guest Lemming and keeper of the tote flame Paul Robinson. Paul has put together a tribute to one of our favorite people on Earth, legendary tote, Melvern J. Mackall. A note to those who don't know Vern very well: Vern is not dead. We just haven't seen him in a looong time. Too long! To use a "kid-ly" metaphor, there's a hole in our horseshoe where he used to stand. And that's what today's blog is about.

Here's Paul.
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I miss Vern.  I think all of us do.

Vern was always the left-field member of the Williams Octet.  His interest in music came from the rock side of the house.  His days at Wyoming Seminary, the private school he attended in Wilkes-Barre, PA, were steeped in David Bowie, Bad Company and Mott the Hoople.  He had a Quadraphonic stereo system.  Pre-Williams, he was a vocalist and a guitarist in a rock band called Brothers of the Womb.

So who knows why he tried out for the Octet?  But I was always glad he did, as he immediately began to make his mark on our merry band.  Vern always had the most distinctive voice in our group -- our dash of "blue-eyed" soul.  A high distinctive tenor that soared over a sea of baritones.  He distinguished himself in innumerable Octet solo turns.  If you need any evidence, here are recordings of Berta Lee from 1982 and Traveling Shoes from 1980.  Damn that's good. (click to listen)



And Vern was probably the smartest guy in the Octet too.  He followed up his magna cum laude Physics degree from Williams with a masters in Electrical Engineering from Cornell and a Wharton MBA with distinction.  Whew.



Super Shree

And who can forget Vern's uncanny sense of humor -- incredibly bizarre and whimsical.  Just one of literally hundreds of examples here:

 

In the Vern worldview, one was not permitted to give oneself a break.  If you started to feel just a little bit good about yourself, you might receive a cartoon like the below as I did some time in the early 80s.  J. (for Joseph) Schriegel was Vern's alias:

Of course, before we left school, Vern got an opportunity to revisit his rock side as he spearheaded the formation of our New Wave cover band, The Doctors, which had its debut in January 1980.  Here are two signature Vern highlights (click to listen) -- The Beatles' "Back in the USSR" and Dave Edmunds' "Crawlin' From the Wreckage" -- from that initial concert at The Log.



January 19, 1980

We even tried to re-form The Doctors for its tenth anniversary -- aka Doctors X -- in 1990.  We never performed publicly but we had a good time rehearsing.

Weenie Boys



Most of all Vern was one of my closest friends, which, I believe, began with Kevin inviting me and Vern to join him to crash with a friend of Kevin's ("Rosie"?) at the 1978? Dartmouth Winter Carnival.  It was a primo male bonding experience, some of which I still remember.  See the three intrepid travelers at Dartmouth below:

Yes, Vern was about as good a friend as anyone could hope for.  I remember, as vividly as one can remember anything, the many great experiences we shared.  Seeing "Purple Rain" seven times during the summer of 1984.  My first -- and last -- time driving a stick -- Vern's TR6 near his home.  Vern tutored me in my high-end audio purchases (Nakamichi Tape Deck) and built my Hafler pre-amplifier from a kit.  He sang "Worst That Could Happen" to Maura at our wedding.

Simulation of Paul & Maura's wedding

All in all - a renaissance man - an amazing talent, smart as a whip - a singular person with a unique sense of humor and a boatload of integrity.  I miss my friend.  I hope that before long he will come back to our fold and we will see each other again.

Paul