Picture of the year IMO

orb · Post by **orb** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 2:33 am

Regards

Gerald

whipcracker · Post by **whipcracker** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 9:26 am

Yes, I think that is picture of the for the jacket section. Thanks for posting it.
I agree with you _, light cannot exist where there is darkness. Everything comes to light in its own time. Tony came to light at just the right time for everyone involved in this crazy thing we do here. Sadly for us, Tony got to go to the Light before we wanted him to. but we don't have a lot of say in that sort of thing. I never got to meet him but I am sure that he would become one of my favorite people.
I hope that we can keep him in the correct light in our conversations about him and his marvelous work, while still respectfully acknowledging his human faults, and never failing to love him as one heck of a guy...

Post by **Michaelson** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:48 am

In my short dealings with Tony, I found him to be one of the most generous and STUBBORN individuals I've run across in this hobby.

For those who weren't around at the time, I experienced a 'problem' with the lining in the jacket I received as a gift. The way it hung on me, the long embroidered panel on the left hand side caused the left side of the jacket to 'gate' away from my body, for lack of a better description. I dropped Tony an email inquiring about this, and letting him know it was happening in case someone else mentioned it to him. Nothing big...just something I experienced, and made it difficult to wear when in the old Plymouth, as anytime I sat down in the car, that panel also pushed the left side of my jacket straight up, with the collar almost up to my ear. It just wouldn't relax.

Unfortunately, he took it as criticism of his work, and a flurry of PM's, posts and emails ensued.

I was so exasperated that I couldn't get him to understand it was a simple personal experience and not an attack on him OR his craftsmanship, I even told him to just forget the whole thing, I'd send the jacket back and he could just give it away. He finally called me, and once I explained it, he said "OH! I didn't understand!" He made a post stating the same, and asked for me to send the jacket back so he could replace the lining. I said, 'ok', but I only need that panel replaced, if that's what he wanted to do.

The emails kept going back and forth....first he wanted to make me a brand new jacket....I said 'no need!'......then he wanted to completely reline the jacket.....he asked me if I wanted a side entry inside pocket installed....then he asked if I wanted his 'travel zip' installed in the pocket. I kept telling him 'no, but I appreciate it....' and he KEPT hammering at me with those 2 sentence emails of capitalized letters saying' LET ME MAKE THIS RIGHT!" He wouldn't relent! I finally said 'OK, Tony, do what ever you want!"

Would you believe (yeah, you would), I got back a work of art, and him posting AND emailing me a big "THANK YOU!!!" for 'helping him' help others in fixing my jacket.

I still don't understand what he meant, but he was like a bulldog. I simply mentioned a problem I was experiencing due to the cut of MY jacket, and he wore out my email account trying to 'make things right'. I never could get it across to him they weren't wrong in the first place...it was just a problem I was having with MY jacket. He still placed my assigned number of the 777 and 'Indy IV' in two single lines inside the pocket. Unless you look for them, you don't even know they're there.

The very last time he and I spoke, it was regarding the zipper failing on the post side, and him telling me he had been having problems with those particular zips, and to return it for a heavy duty zipper....which I did. He made sure it was done and shipped back to me before he left on vacation.....the one he never returned from.

Anyway, my dealings were brief, but fast and furious, and phone calls were animated and filled with laughter. In my short experience with him, he was a nice man, and very nice to me.

Regards! Michaelson

Kevin Anderson · Post by **Kevin Anderson** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 12:27 pm

He looked like a BIG guy in his younger days. Taller than Arnold?
Truly wonderful individual, was Mr. Nowak. Sadly missed.

Out of interest, how many other vendors (of anything!) would happily call you (international!) at all hours and chat for half an hour about
politics and everything else other than jackets?

I can't think how many times Tony said 'Ok, I'll shut up now!' when I tried to steer
the conversation towards business, fearing I might be wasting his valuable time!
He would make many jokes about the Queen of England; I had trouble convincing him that here in Australia, we didn't care too much about the
Queen or the hats she wore!

djd · Post by **djd** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 1:46 pm

Lol you are funny Todd

Me me me me me

Whatever happened to humble, Everyman _ I wonder

gwyddion · Post by **gwyddion** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 1:56 pm

But djd, that's exactly the point: In my experience that's what Tony did, he made it all about you. I only ordered a jacket from him but he still treated me if I was buying a thousand of them or something. He went out of his way to make you feel like you were indeed a very important customer to him, and I have no doubt he meant it every time.

Regards, Geert

djd · Post by **djd** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 2:01 pm

Oh, I don't doubt that either pal

Mitch LaRue · Post by **Mitch LaRue** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 2:06 pm

djd wrote:Lol you are funny Todd
Me me me me me
Whatever happened to humble, Everyman _ I wonder

But... relaying the "me me me" experience is something that I've always considered to be at the core of Pattersons credibility (to say nothing of a charm so abrasive that many who read his words come away from the experience feeling "scuffed up")
I mean after all, isn't that what people WANT?
Someone relaying their first hand knowledge of an event / possession of documentation / association with the parties being discussed / witnessing first-hand an event or conversation?

That's always seemed a LOT better than people theorizing and speculating about events/documents/people/events about which they have NO knowledge...
I mean, that stuff is just pure rumination, isn't it?

Todd moves in interesting circles... but I sure ain't mad at him for it.

Mitch LaRue · Post by **Mitch LaRue** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 2:07 pm

Ooops.
Just posted and read what _ wrote... bit repetitive, sorry.

(NOT REALLY SORRY)

St. Dumas · Post by **St. Dumas** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 2:19 pm

I don't mean to stray from talking about Tony in the thread, but _, what were the two modifications Bernie Pollack had asked for?

SD

djd · Post by **djd** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 2:23 pm

Lol. Maybe it's just my deliacate British sensibilities. There is a cultural difference I think. Or maybe it's just me...

What I do think is that if anyone wants to hold Tony or anyone else in particularly high regard, that's up to them. Going back to your first post in this thread.... There have been times when you Todd have sworn that black is white and it's turned out to be black after all. Yes, you've said sorry before and I respect that of you -but it could also mean that sometimes you could be a little less confrontational in your interactions with others? We all of us make mistakes. Even I do.... Or so I'm told....

I just throw that out there in the spirit of international friendship and the US - UK entante cordiale...

St. Dumas · Post by **St. Dumas** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 2:34 pm

_ wrote:So #1 was the narrowing of the collar and storm flap, #2 was the nudging of seams and slight measurements. Literally, it was "1/8th here and 3/32nd there." Fedora can attest - that was Bernie's way.

Thanks. Those are the biggest visible differences between those two jackets.

djd · Post by **djd** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 2:38 pm

We were always told that it was impolite to talk about yourself too much! I know our quaint colonial cousins don't feel the same

(mind you, that's probably why we've been trampled under your big colonial feet for the last 60 years....)

CM · Post by CM » Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:38 pm

_ wrote: I spotted this thread as a potential bait. I was warned it was. But I'm not going to live that way. Capiche?

Well put, Brother. I was hoping someone would rehabilitate this thread when it showed up and you did us proud, thanks.

St. Dumas · Post by **St. Dumas** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:52 pm

Oh, you're right, _ -- Pollack didn't ask for modifications to the LC jacket. I was comparing the CS jacket with the LC, but they were both patterned after the Keppler G&B jacket, which doesn't have the large collar or the wider storm flap. Interesting that both Powell and Pollack requested changes to the same two aspects of the Keppler jacket, but both asking for different modifications.

Tibor · Post by **Tibor** » Mon Nov 22, 2010 5:25 pm

djd wrote:We were always told that it was impolite to talk about yourself too much! I know our quaint colonial cousins don't feel the same
(mind you, that's probably why we've been trampled under your big colonial feet for the last 60 years....)

Well, not all of us quaint colonials talk about ourselves, despite interesting lives. Best not to lump any group together too broadly. I always tread lightly on other's turf, ...just being respectful. But I'm also pretty direct and to the point.

I always liked that about Tony. He was direct, but generous and kind. Miss that fellow. Nice picture.

orb · Post by **orb** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 1:28 am

I started this thread in memory of my friend Tony. But now I don't like what happened to it.
Please lock this thread.

Post by **Tennessee Smith** » Tue Nov 23, 2010 8:00 am

Well, since the originator requested it to be locked, it will. Granted I don't see anything wrong with it. It's probably the first Nowak thread in a long time that didn't get ugly even with some of the comments that could have been taken other ways.

Thank you everyone for staying civil.

-TS