My brother Buddy knew one piano song by heart. The Entertainer by Scott Joplin. I was recently reminded of this because a co-worker has the song as a ring tone on her cell phone. Hearing it sparked some fond memories of the past.....Buddy had always been the class clown, the joker....the entertainer. He sparked laughter everywhere he went. From re-inventing the four food groups with the waitress of a fancy restaurant (butter, salt, spaghetti, fat), to getting his uptight nurse in trouble for giving him IV Baby Ruths; after she repremanded him for eating sweets. He hung the empty candy bag over his IV bag, then reported her to her supervisor. They all had a good laugh. Never a dull moment in his company!
My favorite picture of him was taken at the old Revolution Mill (now renovated into Revolution Mill Studios). He found a petrified raccoon that had been stuck in a wall for who knows how long and kept the nasty thing around for years. He loved animals and felt sorry for it....introduced it and it's "sad story" to everyone that came over....lol. Then he'd make it "attack". Should've seen people run!
I suppose anyone that met Buddy had no idea that his IQ was over 160. Master in business, Deans List...... made more money than most of us will hope to make in our lifetime. The one thing they all knew was that Buddy healed everything with laughter and entertainment.
Anton W. Bantel Jr. October 28, 1959- June 25, 2007
