Fish

A story I forgot to mention in all the emotion of Dan's sendoff is one that Snooze brought back as a wonderful memory. How lucky we both were to have a place ourselves on the mountaintop - only a couple of miles from the Briar Patch and two of the other homes that Dan used to collect almost as numerously as his various land, sea and air vehicles. We used to invite Dan over for dinner, sometimes with some of our more boring friends, and if the dinner conversation ever started to lag, I used to casually mention something about the marijuana laws in this country - knowing full well that would lead to at least a half hour of Dan on his soap box. Hs anyone mentioned yet that things with Dan were never dull?Anyway - back to the story Snooze reminded me of. Dan hung on to the Briar Patch for an amazingly long time after he wasn't able to continue paying for its upkeep. (SO many happy memories of that wonderful house)! Well, a few years ago the time finally came when he'd exhausted all his options and a date certain for foreclosure was looming. We knew Dan well enough to know that the loss of that house was more than a little humiliating to him. Nevertheless, in a show of the type of dignity (not a word that may always pop up in descriptions of Dan, but it should) that I think he patented, he invited us over for dinner the night before he finally had to move out. There, warmed only by the wonderful, fume leaking wood burning stove in the kitchen, he served us up a wonderful, delicious meal in the warmest ambience you can imagine. What a class guy he was! I learned so much from him.

Fashing blues -Uncle Nick

Dan at Fasching - life on a business trip
Dan was the pioneer of the Fasching Economics Conference. He made a business trip to Munich that inadvertently turned into full scale participation in the pre-Lenten Carnival, celebrated in the Catholic parts of Germany. On his return to London, a tired, bewildered but exhilarated Dan regaled us all with tales of the greatest party that he could half remember, and had us all sold on the necessity of intensifying our understanding of the German Economy, at the earliest opportunity.
Fasching is all about Costume, Fantasy and the Surreal. 100,000 people in fancy dress change the feel of the most austere city, and Munich is fun anyway, and at any time. Bus Drivers and Policemen can be seen wearing gorilla suits and makeup respectively. Even some dogs get a makeover to resemble a tiger or some other species….well….. if you have that sort of eye. The combination of sleep deprivation, (sleep is “streng verboten” for much of the festival), and the local beer, consumed over a five day period, ensure that you have acquired “that sort of eye”. By the finale of approaching Ash Wednesday, and the immediacy of the start of Lent, everyone is hearing in tongues and has adapted to the normality of the surreal.
Dan went through a variety of costume themes centred round space. He started as a fairly standard spaceman, before slowly mutating into a semi-alien being. Doing duty at the “Death of the Crow” was a relatively early incarnation. The key to this transformation was the steadily increasing application of blue body paint (which I suspect Dan was resorting to, in order to ward off the sub-zero temperatures of the Munich night).
Exhausted after a full night of partying, and having had his “Fruhstuck obligataer” (mandatory breakfast), Dan announced that since sleep was forbidden, he was going to have a massage, before attending an economic meeting with us all at a German Bank.
Being so exhausted, Dan could not get it together to bathe before the masseuse arrived. Consequently the masseuse, a terrifyingly ugly Bavarian woman, (a clone of Rosa Kleb), had the difficult task of massaging a prostrate Dan, thickly covered in woad. Inevitably, white starched uniforms started to get contaminated, and the temper of the Rosa Kleb became ever more frayed as Dan “inadvertently” stretched or moved so as to aggravate the mess and spread the blue paint.
Dan very proudly invited me to inspect his room, prior to setting off to “work”, and reduced me to tears of laughter at the extent of the area, towels and bedding he had been able to contaminate with the body paint.
“Business trips” with Dan were always fun. In general even more fun was had as “mature adults” than we had at our Colleges in our early twenties. I always give thanks for the working life I have been able to lead, and to those dear friends, Dan leading the pack, who helped turn the chore of earning a living into the opportunity to live and laugh to the max.

Ellen Jensen - Aunt Judy's nephew

I loved it when he was here staying with mom. She loved his company, he entertained her, waited on her and made her laugh, a lot. There is so much to say about him, as everyone, I'm sure, agrees and shares.
I'm so glad he was able to come to our neck of the woods and share time with us. We always looked forward to his visits. We will miss him, greatly, but have fabulous memories.

Sarah, Didi's friend

It is fitting that I am in Paris today and received this e mail about your dad. I shed a tear but mostly I remembered the extraordinary and outrageous fun that we all had so many years ago. From all those times at Marchfield, to the flat in Paris, travelling to Germany (naughty Dan tried to pass me off as your (Didi's) friend!!!). His inveterate sense of humour and mad, wonderful approach to life touched us all in different ways. The world is a poorer place for not having him but heaven look out!!!

Ascot Driving - Renee Hutchinson

Remember we went to Royal Ascot with Grandude and I twisted his ear so he would not kill us drunk driving.It was mostly because you were in the car,mother hen panicked.Remember us standing on the side of the road in our glad rags thumbing a ride?He never forgave me.It made me sad..He was a ton of fun and heart.He visited me more than anyone when I was in the hospital in London for my second breast cancer.

Gaby

We had great fun and I enjoyed my trip to Tannersville and Maine and meeting you and your family and the golden lab I seem to remember ,and visiting L.L.Bean at midnight !!!

Uncle Danny

O Uncle! My Uncle!Uncle Danny. Those 2 words conjure up so many images in my mind…my memories. There he is, returning from some adventure, dressed in khaki shorts, safari shirt, topsider shoes, some sort of satchel slung over his shoulder, aviator sunglasses and of course, most importantly, his University of Michigan baseball cap. (In tribute I just ordered one to wear in his memory, maybe we should all)How he loved his Wolverines.I could sit for hours just watching him sip a bloody Mary while he worked on the Times crossword. He had that kind of charisma. His mastery of the English language was second to none. He loved to talk, and we all loved to listen.The stories he could tell, the tales he could weave, we loved it when he would expound on different topics: politics, life, Alexa and Didi, Michigan football, and of course his favorite topic…women. He really should have had his own radio talk show, we can only imagine… A personal favorite memory is from 1980 when my mother, brothers and I visited he and the girls in Paris. What a cool flat; the pinball machine, the tiny guestroom at the top of the staircase, the eclectic décor, the view onto the street, baguettes and Nutella, etc. One afternoon he said “Come on John, let’s see Paris.” And with him there was only one real way to do that…motorcycle. WOW!!! Every young male’s fantasy, the freedom of a motorcycle. I put on the helmet and off we went. I felt like Nicholson to his Fonda. Snaking through back alley ways, flying down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, over to the Eiffel Tower, through the countryside out to Versailles, and of course he had to show his 16 year old nephew which park the hookers hung out in. What a ride!!!What a life!!!I could go on but perhaps another time, for now let’s all put on smile and join Dan on his grandest adventure yet. I’m sure he’s already giving the Big Guy and earful.Have fun Uncle Danny.

The brown Whale - Gigi

The Brown Whale.

Dan had an old jalopy which he named the "Brown Whale". One day Dan and I took the train up to Hudson on our way to Tannersville. He had parked the Brown Wale at the station where it had been for several weeks. When he opened the car door a swarm of wasps which had made their nest under the steering wheel came flying out. Needless to say I kept my distance. I laughed while Dan had soaked a cloth with gasoline and tried to create an unpleasant environment for the buzzing insects. To top it all off the car wouldn't start once we got rid of the wasps. A nice man saw our predicament and jump started the Brown Wale. This incident was so typical of how Dan lived his life, I am sure that he is turning Heaven upside down. I will miss you Dan.

Gigi

Chris' comments

Chris said...
Dan lives on and will continue to do so. When it comes to living life, Dan set the standard (and the bar is high). We can never forget him: no one he ever met could ever forget him; so he lives on.I am not sure exactly when or where I met Dan: I can't precisely remember.. in the late 70s in Paris or maybe London. But once we did meet, he immediately became part of my life: a randomly recurring part of its fabric.One reason it is difficult to single out any particular episode of Dan's interaction with anyone's world is that every one of them was exceptional: with Dan there anything could happen, and it was unlikely to be normal. Picking one out seems unfair! But the one I would choose is when Dan flew over from the States to take care of the barbecue at my 50th birthday party in the south of France in 2003; or maybe lunch in London Zoo in 1983? Or Fasching in Munich a few years later... when he came to see us in Mill Neck in 2002 and gave Linda a huge and stunning canvas painted by an artist he knew in New York in the 60s. The flat in Paris with the pinball machines my kids played on; or the one in London with the Warhols; or when he came to stay a few months....Dan definitely lives on......

Dog days

Mark Steed said...
God Bless Dan and all who drank with himYears ago Dan and I were asked by Nick Ritchie to take Nick’s two eldest sons for a weeks holiday in Tuscany. Dan and I were the kids respective Godfathers and Nina Ritchie was pregnant with Lucy and so neither Nick nor Nina could go.In the first fee days of the holiday Dan’s Godson Edward (aged about 10) asked Dan – “What would you like to be if you were not a human”. Dan thought for a moment and replied “I would like to be a Labrador dog”. “Why” asked Edward”. “So I could stick my nose up a girl’ skirt without anyone objecting”. Dan suddenly realised that he had said the wrong thing so tried to correct it by saying – “NO!! I would want to be a Labrador because it has such a good life and a waggy tail”.From then on, everyday Edward would ask Dan the same question – “Why do you want to be a Labrador”. Every time Dan would come up with some new and plausible reason.On returning the kids to their parents,, the first thing Edward said to his mother was “Dan wants to be a Labrador so he can put his nose up a girl’s skirt”Oh the joy of kids.I will try to leave some pictures of Dan at Chris Golden’s 50th birthday party in France. Chris had flown Dan over especially so he could do the barbecue. The reason why Dan has a newspaper in front of him is so that I had proof he still existed as he had been on the “missing list” for some time.

Dan's capers

I remember a story about La Coupole in the late 70's when Dan and a bunch of friends from the BAII got together for a late night dinner. The drinks were flowing and the laughs were rolling, and when the waiter reached over to fill Susie Ollemans' wine glass, she bit him in the arm. He said 'le dinner arrive de suite, madame.' (dinner will be served right away) and she replied, 'I thought you were Dan.'

Dan is 'Repairing'

Welcome to Dan lives on

There are few people whose name alone make people smile, and Dan Dayton was one of them.

Most of the folks worldwide who have heard the sad news of his passing on Monday have emailed me something along the lines of : 'Your Dad was a character, a great storyteller and I have so many stories to tell, but I'm afraid that this may not be the time to tell those...'

I can assure you all, that it is TIME to tell them. There is no better time, which is what this blog is designed for. I would love to pull all the stories and gritty pieces together and write a book someday, as he had always wanted to do for himself. Any details you can remember are welcome.

Dan is remembered for his hugs, his charm, his lateness and his impish humor. He is 'hunkered down' for good, and left this world with a smile on his face and half a dozen women fussing at his bedside.

He is smiling now.