Restaurant Owner Dies In Fall From Parking Garage.

Dearfolk,
Thus read the headline in today's Athens Banner-Herald/News. Ted Hafer, 42, owner of The Grit, popular vegetarian eatery at 199 Prince Avenue in Athens, apparently dived off the top of the College Avenue Parking Deck at about 10:35 Friday morning. He died before an ambulance reached the scene.
If any of you are interested, Athens Online has the story. I've been too heartsick to Google up any information; Ted was my friend for over 20 years and seemed the picture of happiness and contentment. He leaves behind his wife Jessica Greene and their two children.
The business reopened sometime Saturday and was in full swing when I drove by this early afternoon. Evidently it will continue; he had hired good assistants, and Jessica has been "hands on" as well.
Ted was also a part of Athens' music scene, having been a member of Porn Orchard, a band that issued both a 7" EP and a 12" disc (I own both). His friend (and mine) Sam Mixon, drummer for the band, expressed great sorrow, saying "Ted was a really talented guitarist and songwriter." Ted also drew a cartoon of me that graced the cover of an early issue of Flagpole Magazine: in it I am munching on a piece of homemade cornbread and musing "I DO NOT look like Jerry Garcia!" Ted drew it on a napkin right after I blurted that out one night, I kept it, and it was made into a cover.
Lordy, will I miss him. In a few minutes, I'm going down to The Blind Pig to raise a pint for him. He was worth it. And I'll make it Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, 'cause he was worth THE BEST.
Just thought you'd want to know.
Sadly Submitted, Ort. Carlton in In-Mourning Athens, Georgia.

Ort., I'm so sorry.

I hope that you can soon find comfort in your obviously many happy memories of your friend.

Wow Ort... the universe loves to remind us: you just never know. A similar thing happened with someone in the town I was studying in last year - apparently the person was the picture of happiness... hard to know what is inside.

Sorry for your loss, yet glad you obviously truly appreciate having known him. Keep remembering the Good Stuff.

Ort, I'm very sorry to hear about your friend..sending up prayers of comfort for his family and friends..many hugs!

Ort., very sorry to hear of the loss to you, his family and friends.

But I am glad to see you back posting.

MikeS.

Ort., that is just awful. A toast to Mr. Hafer and those who loved him well.

Ort-
Truly sorry to hear about the death of your friend.

That is awful. I'm sorry.

So sorry Ort.

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.
.... Ted was my friend for over 20 years and seemed the picture of happiness and contentment.

I am very sorry for your loss. These tragedies always remind of the poem 'Richard Cory' (link below). You can never really know what people are truly feeling.

I will pray for his family and friends.

Kevin

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16079

Ort,
It always hurts to lose a friend. I'm sorry you are being faced with this loss. We will be thinking of you, and of his other friends and family.

I would also like to say that your friends here have missed seeing you post. I know the circumstances are sad, but it is good to see you back.

My shared sadness goes out to you..I understand all too well the loss of a friend, too young...

Ort,

I am so sad to hear of the loss of your dear friend. I can only hope he is in a better place and at peace. I am truly sorry. I know you will remember him well.

Ort,

My heartfelt sympathy goes out to you and to the family of this special friend. I hope that the restaurant will continue to flourish as his legacy.

Ort., I'm so sorry you and Ted's family and friends are hurting at this difficult time.

We're not promised a single minute of the future so you have to treasure your friends while you can. It sounds like you did exactly that.

As grateful as you seem for Ted's friendship, I'm sure he was just as grateful for yours.

You're in my thoughts.

quote:

Originally posted by skylar0ne
I would also like to say that your friends here have missed seeing you post. I know the circumstances are sad, but it is good to see you back.

Skylar,
Thanks for your kind thoughts. Actually, I finally had time to return last night, and -- almost as an afterthought -- I mentioned Ted's passing because I felt it was Roadfood Newsworthy. And, when the proverbial smoke clears, I will guide Jessica Greene to this thread so she can read your messages for herself.
Ted had apparently been suffering from depression for some time, but he masked it well. The shock is still as strong as when word first leaked out: I guess that's what comes of a life well lived, no matter how short, no matter how truncated.
Many of y'all might be interested to look up The Grit Cookbook on Google. I hardly think that for me to recommend anyone's buying it that is interested will in any way step on the barely-competing toes of The Sterns or anyone else here. That cookbook has been referred to around town in the last few days as The Ted Hafer Memorial College Fund, and that's truly apropos... it's a beauty.
Ted was a native of Potsdam, New York and came to Athens roughly 23 years ago. He and fellow Potsdamite Curtis Pernice formed, with drummer-friend Sam Mixon, a well-thought-of band here named Porn Orchard. If any of you heard that band, you now have another connection to the all-too-brief life of Ted. They released a 7" record as well as a 12" one; I own both.
Tomorrow night I won't be by here: I'm going to raise a toast to Ted's memory at $ 2 pint night at Copper Creek Brewing Co. I am simply not emotionally prepared to attend his funeral, but my 30-year-friend Kurt Wood, who is manager of the Taco Stand right up the street from The Grit, will be there with his wife Gretchen in my stead.
Your thoughts, all of you, are appreciated... not so much for me, as for Ted's family.
Later this week, I have a few restaurant finds to post wherever space permits and/or time allows. Stay tuned: you're going to love hearing about The Gwinnett Diner's Trash Can Omelette and Dumpster Omelette, as well as Judy's Diner (there really is a Judy, too!) and several other places I've been privy to discover along the road.
Longwindedly, Ort.

quote:

Originally posted by KOK

I am very sorry for your loss. These tragedies always remind of the poem 'Richard Cory'. You can never really know what people are truly feeling.
Kevin

Kevin,
Funny thing, I own that 45 by The Chicago Loop on DYNO VOICE Records... and was just thinking about it the other day. It was the follow-up to their only chart disc, "When She Wants Good Lovin' (My Baby Comes To Me)" from 1966 or 1967. -- Does anyone else remember THAT obscurity?
Conjuring Them Up, Ort. Carlton in Warmer-But-Not-By-A-Lot Athens, Georgia.

Ort., Some people fight tooth and nail to stay alive and others do not. None of us can explain that.

Ort,

My words fail me.

Others are more so eloquent.

I am so sorry for your loss. That is all I can say.

Blessings, dear heart, AND please keep in touch.

Just me, MG!

Beloved,
Kurt told me just this afternoon that there were over a thousand people at Ted's funeral: "We arrived late and had to stand out in the lobby, with a zillion other folks. You should have gone. Lots of people just wore t-shirts and old clothes because nobody ever dresses up to visit The Grit."
Today's newspaper carried the item that his death has officially been ruled a suicide. It still stings my heart, and it's getting close to a week later.
As soon as I type this and visit a couple more threads, I'm off to a Flagpole celebration at The 40 Watt Club, which is owned by Barrie Greene Buck, who used to be married to Pete Buck of R. E. M. and who is Jessica Greene's sister -- thus she is Ted's sister-in-law. I doubt she'll be there, but I will hug her if she is and if she needs it. Bonds run deep in this little city; we bleed into each other's wounds, as Melanie so aptly put it.
All y'all's words are appreciated. Now I gotta go somewhere else threadwise so I can post something funny... this is too heavy duty for me right now.
Still Pining, Even If Only As Slightly As Those Full-Grown Six Foot Loblolly Pines In New Jersey's Pine Barrens, Ort.
P. S. I want to see those little drawf trees sometime, if only to have my picture taken beside a clump of them. Nobody has ever figured out why this occurs, and it's only in one place... must be a huge deposit of bog iron under there, or something.

quote:

Originally posted by KOK

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.
.... Ted was my friend for over 20 years and seemed the picture of happiness and contentment.

I am very sorry for your loss. These tragedies always remind of the poem 'Richard Cory' (link below). You can never really know what people are truly feeling.

I will pray for his family and friends.

Kevin

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16079

Not to bring up old sad memories, but that poem reminds me of the song Don Henly did.
"In a New York Minute", (with Harry...)

Ort,

I'll add my thoughts and prayers to the others. Thanks for sharing the sad news and the community outreach.