Sydney near the end

Sydney killed himself by running into a moving car wheel one night in 1970. He had been out carousing as usual, but must have gotten caught in a new transition lane feeding onto a newly swift-flowing Ocean Park Boulevard in Santa Monica.

The next time I went to our coffee spot, without Sydney, an artist named Otho made this drawing on an envelope. He offered it to me as a commemoration of a colorful and popular local character, but with a little hesitancy, hoping I wouldn't be offended by his depiction of Sydney's moth-eaten appearance.

How could I be offended? It was a perfect blending of art and reality. And a treasured remembrance of a dear friend.