Beta Pi:
IS BETA PI BLOG without any redeeming social or artistic merit?:
Mark McGann with Jerry Neuberg and George Ford
YEA
. .
. . or
Mark sent me this gag photo, which he was very proud of
Beta Pi
Blog’s purpose: to bring ATO, Beta Pi Chapter Brothers and ATO Gal-Pals
together. The blog is not to be taken
seriously - it is meant for fun.
The
Beta Pi Blog is non-political. It
includes
From Mark's trip to Vegas
pictures,
links, Archives of previous issues, and other time-wasters.
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MARLON
MEMORIAL
By
Tison Keel
It is with heavy
heart that I take up a light burden, a memorial to a good friend for a long
time, now that Mark McGann’s soul is no longer of this earth.
First the
basics: Born November 13, 1954, died
December 10, 2018, age 64. Cause of
death glioblastoma multiform IV (GBM).
He had improbably survived an earlier bout with the same kind of tumor
15 years earlier. It was not clear if
this was a recurrence or an entirely new tumor, since it arose in the opposite
side of the brain from the first (like being shark-bitten twice). The progress of the disease was rapid – first
overt physical and mental signs in September, game over December.
Factoids:
·
Mark
lived in Spain from 1956–57, so he learned to talk there, then was taken back
and immersed in 6th grade 1966-67, so was 100% fluent in Spanish. He
picked up Italian in his 20’s for work.
·
Mark’s
father graduated from Harvard, and was a well-known academic, specializing in
pre-Columbian civilizations, but sadly died young. Chancellor Heard murmured, “Your father would
be proud” when Mark walked the dais at graduation.
·
Mark
traveled to London and back at Mach 2 on the SST (with Cindy Crawford on board).
·
Mark
lived most of his early life in Austin, TX, where he graduated from St.
Stephens Episcopal. After college he lived, in order, in Mobile, NYC, New
Jersey, Savannah, Dallas, Arlington VA, Austin, Vero Beach, interacting with a
fairly large number of ATOs around the USA.
·
An
inveterate collector, Mark had extensive collections of coins, pre-Columbian
artifacts and other odds and ends.
Mark and I met when
he was an ATO pledge in the spring of 1974.
He recounted the story to me of how he came to join our Ship of Fools
only recently. As a long-haired freshman
in Kissam Quad, Mark said he had less than zero interest in being a frat
man.
One day he found an unexpected letter in his little box at Rand post office – a letter of invitation to come by the ATO house during rush, sent by none other than JD Strickland (maybe JD will come out of hiding to offer the back story on how this came to pass – Mark never learned how). Mark said he had no idea who this guy was, why he would annoy him with such a thing, but wanted to find out how his name had come up, and maybe to tell him to butt out of his life (sounds like curmudgeon Marlon was already an alter-ego). Anyway, he arrives at the Tic house as rush was going full blast, which at the time meant Actives loaded up on whiskey and the occasional trip to the stairwell, several young “exotics,” that is, girlfriends of brothers, acting as bait, stereo on high volume (probably Fleetwood Mac, Eat a Peach or J. Geils). A drink was offered, and whether he ever met JD or not, Mark was unsure. He just knew this looked like a fun group, I’m sure he looked like a natural Tic, and before long he had received and accepted an offer to pledge.
My first clear
memories of Mark were that spring when we decided to visit Eleuthera,
Bahamas. He spent most of the time at
Surfers Beach, but of course we ran into one another frequently, and he quickly
got into playing Wales Tales with the experienced hands, soon proficiently. Eleuthera was a big part of Mark’s college memories,
as he also joined the crew who traveled there the next year as well, though I
did not make that second trip. There it
was that he dodged death a first time, when on the back of a motorbike piloted
by Jerry Neuberg ran head-on into a car.
Mark was thrown clear, suffered scrapes and bruises. Jerry was more
badly hurt, but happily survived. Mark says the rest of that trip he was not
sure if he actually did survive, walking about ghost-like, in a dream… He
earlier this year shared a link to a 360 degree view of the Glass Window site,
Eleuthera, so obviously a place near to his heart.
Why was he called
Marlon? I did not participate and never
heard the story of the christening, maybe others can enlighten us. It was an immediately popular name, accepted
and used by everyone, as Marlon was quite proud of his appearance, and
frequently postured as we imagined Marlon Brando would do. Here are a few “beauty shots” of Mark in that
era, clearly in Marlon Mode.
We grew closer
gradually over the course of only 18 months together at VU. I recall Mark living in a house off-campus
and his roommate, Jeff Lane (?) had a ski boat, so there were trips to Percy
Priest Lake for slalom skiing! But then
I graduated and he had two more to go.
However, somehow when I was working my first job in Dallas, we connected
when I visited Austin in the summer on business. Mark showed up at the Sheraton with…wait for
it…an 8-mm movie projector and reels of Eleuthera home movies, which we
projected on a sheet while enjoying multiple comestibles.
I bumped into him
in New Orleans with Arthur Landry, and a few other places as time passed, until
he ended up in NYC, where my employer had its HQ. There, Mark had connected with like-minded
young professionals who each Thursday met at the Café at Grand Central in
winter, or 2nd Ave @ 88th in summer. They called this event “The Board”. At every opportunity when I visited The City,
I attended The Board for drinks late into the night, and whatever else people
were doing in the 80’s. Here he is in
full Marlon-esque regalia, NYC style.
Here I have to
thank Mark, for introducing me to Day Grymes, my wife of 31 years, who was a
regular member of The Board, and who I finally snagged for good when Mark got
married in NY, September 1985.
Therefore, I naturally asked Mark to stand for me at our wedding, in
July 1987. Note other ATO legends,
Worthy Chaplain Stover and Worthy Master Landry in the wedding party with Mark,
second from right.
One thing led to
another in my marriage, soon we were having children, and Marlon agreed to be
the godfather of our third son, Thayer, while we both were living in New Jersey
at the time.
Years lapsed as I took an
Asian assignment and Mark got divorced, moved a couple of times, battled and
beat, for a time, GBM. I returned to NJ,
and Mark was living in Arlington, VA, having undergone extensive treatments and
exams in his valiant battle, which he appeared to be winning, contrary to all
normal expectations. He drove up to
visit several times, for long weekends, a birthday, and even a Thanksgiving or
two, where he spent time with our children, growing up under his questionable
influence.
Our karmas were
pretty well linked, apparently, since Mark had moved back to Austin, Texas,
apparently having vanquished the beast in his brain, and I took a new job in
Houston, where I had an apartment and spent 51% of my time solo (no state
income tax) before relocating full time in 2013, so I had many weekend
opportunities to visit Mark, where he showed me the finer points of the Capital
of the Lone Star State: The Broken Spoke, the Texas State Cemetery
(death-defying), Salt Lick BBQ, music venues aplenty.
One day he even
talked me into an expedition into the country to find some supposed dinosaur
footprints, which we may or may not have seen in a river bed, but did enjoy the
drive through the Hill Country and some good chicken-fried steak served by a
young lovely in Blanco!
Final phase,
Florida – My wife and I have been visiting Vero Beach, FL at least once a year
for more than 30, and when Mark decided that Austin was no longer the town he
loved and was looking for new pastures, closer to the ocean, we suggested he
look there.
He immediately loved Vero
and Mark purchased a house there on his first visit. Marlon was quite happy in his new abode, from
which the beach was only a couple hundred yards’ walk, down a lush tropical
path. He did not abandon his Marlon
persona, but adapted it to the tropics.
Happily, I got to
visit Vero and Mark frequently in recent years (we now own a home and will
retire there, quite sadly having lost the pleasure of anticipating frequent
visits by our formerly nearby neighbor).
You may see a happy, relaxed being in pictures of Mark in his time near
the Atlantic.
Many of these came
from Mark’s Facebook page, and if you think of him as a curmudgeon, which he
certainly could be at times, take the time to scroll through that record and
see the beautiful soul beneath the mask, with many, many images of surf,
flowers and beauty, interspersed with images of Marlon as Marlon. I recommend that Facebook tour as a way to
say goodbye.
Farewell, good
friend, may the journey be a peaceful one!
As Jimi said (a shared passion),
“If I don’t see you
no more in this world, I’ll meet you in the next one; don’t be late!”
* *
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THE GUY
WHO KEPT US LAUGHING
By
Lawrence A. Simons
I am
not sure exactly how Mark got his nickname “Marlon” – but it had something to
do with how handsome he was. In Mark’s Pledge
Class, he was the “face man”. But, never
judge a book by its cover, right?
Underneath the facade, Mark had a magnetic personality, he was incredibly
intelligent, he was witty and humorous.
He could also be sarcastic and acerbic. But even in that way, he was the
guy who kept us all laughing.
Shortly
after I started this Blog (in 2006) Mark contacted me, and told me of his brain
cancer, and permitted me to write about this knowledge, to spread the word and
ask for prayers. I got to know him a lot
better during this time, and so did my wife Ann, who offered to lend her
expertise as a cancer nurse to Mark, as a medical resource-person. Mark was having difficulty accepting some
residual effects of his operation.
Mark
called me and said he wanted to attend Reunion in 2007, and would do so on one
condition: that he stay at our house. Of
course I said yes, absolutely.
And I
have to say, during this visit, he did not seem to be in his “Marlon”
character, he was just Mark, or as Tison described him, relaxed. And in my opinion, this side of Mark was immensely likable.
It was refreshing that he could drop the pretense, and just be
himself. I have wondered (never having had such a life-threatening illness) whether having
that very scary cancer experience had a sobering effect on him. Here are a few of the photos from that
weekend.
After
that, we tried – unsuccessfully – to persuade him to return. He did not want to attend in 2012, or 2017. Actually, we came very close in 2017, he tried his "one condition" on me, but I had to say no, as I'd already promised our guest room to Buck. I think the Blog helped me to have a much richer relationship with Mark than I would otherwise have had. I love all my ATO Brothers, and Mark especially.
Ann Simons, Mark McGann, George Ford, Frank Biller, Steven Starr
Here is
how I want to remember Mark, as guy who took great pleasure in entertaining his
brothers and friends. He was the guy who
kept us laughing.
Frank Biller, Mark McGann, Steve Starr, Larry Simons
Mark McGann and Frank Biller
Thanks
to Tison Keel for writing such a heart-felt memorial to our friend and brother
Mark McGann.
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BETA PI
BLOG WELCOMES TONY MIRANDA
I
found a guy who looked a lot like Tony Miranda, VU Class of 1976, on Facebook. Facebook is a good way to find people. Not sure it was him - 40+ years later, I send him a message
“Hey Tony, this is Bozino…are you the Tony Miranda who we used to call “Tony
the Toe” in ATO at Vanderbilt? About 6
months later, The Toe woke up...and responded “Fugetaboutit”.
Spectacular, Tony the Toe! One of the greats of ATO…
You can reach The Toe at amiranda01@live.com
You can reach The Toe at amiranda01@live.com
…so
without further ‘To-Do’…Beta Pi Blog welcomes the one-and-only TONY THE TOE!! Welcome aboard Tony.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM BETA PI BLOG!
You know how much I love the song "Auld Lang Syne" written by the great poet Robert Burns. Pretty amazing how that ancient poem has become a tradition people sing every year. It is about love, hope, friendship, and remembering our friends. This year we faced the passing of dear friend Mark McGann. And, though that brought a lot of sadness, 2018 has been a really good year for our group, we had some guys join in who had never been before - Rob Anderson and Gregg Qualls, and we had our second annual trip to visit Alex and Laura's graves, which was so very meaningful, largely thanks to Claude Cody, George Joe, Dick Stoner, John Stein, Steve Starr, Frank Biller and Clark Thomas. And we found another guy, Tony Miranda. I am thinking this morning, there is sunshine, another year above ground, for which I feel grateful, and grateful to be a part of this brotherhood. Happy New Year to you all. I love all my ATO Brothers. "For auld lang syne my dear, for auld lang syne..."
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You know how much I love the song "Auld Lang Syne" written by the great poet Robert Burns. Pretty amazing how that ancient poem has become a tradition people sing every year. It is about love, hope, friendship, and remembering our friends. This year we faced the passing of dear friend Mark McGann. And, though that brought a lot of sadness, 2018 has been a really good year for our group, we had some guys join in who had never been before - Rob Anderson and Gregg Qualls, and we had our second annual trip to visit Alex and Laura's graves, which was so very meaningful, largely thanks to Claude Cody, George Joe, Dick Stoner, John Stein, Steve Starr, Frank Biller and Clark Thomas. And we found another guy, Tony Miranda. I am thinking this morning, there is sunshine, another year above ground, for which I feel grateful, and grateful to be a part of this brotherhood. Happy New Year to you all. I love all my ATO Brothers. "For auld lang syne my dear, for auld lang syne..."
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KEEPING
TABS:
Here is
a reminder of the Brothers and Sisters we have lost.
MARK McGANN, died December
10, 2018.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2018, No.07. Archive: Dec. 2018
BECKY BRUNING MANYAK, died
October 19, 2017.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2017, No.07. Archive: Sept. 2017
Obituary:
ROB BLANKENHORN, died
December, 2016.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2017, No.05, (See Comment by Dick Stoner). Archive:
Sept. 2017EDWARD G. “TED” STEPHANY, died January 20, 2016.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2016, No.01, Archive: Jan. 2016
J. NEAL CRENSHAW, died
November 12, 2014.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2014, No.08, Archive: Nov. 2014
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2014, No.10, Archive: Dec. 2014
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2014, No.08, Archive: Nov. 2014
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2014, No.10, Archive: Dec. 2014
MILES WALSH, died in July,
2013.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2013, No.05, Comments Section (over 50 comments),
Archive: Aug.2013
DAVID HOWE, died November 30,
2006.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2006, No.68, Archive: Dec. 2006. Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2007, No.30, Archive: May. 2007
KURT WAGNER, died in July,
2002.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2016, No.02, Archive: Jan. 2016
ALEXANDER WILSON, died April
9, 1977.
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2006, No.25, Lowenstein Essay Contest. Archive: Aug.
2006Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2006, No.33, Honoring Alex and Laura. Archive: Sept. 2006
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2006, No.45, Tale-o-Pig-Roast. Archive: Sept. 2006
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2006, No.50, Winner Essay Contest. Archive: Oct. 2006
Beta Pi Blog, Vol.2017, No.05, Alexander Wilson. Archive: Sept. 2017
Alex and Laura are buried at the Nashville National Cemetery. The cemetery is at 1420 Gallatin Pike South, Madison, TN 37115. Alex and Laura are at Section KK, Site 794.
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THE
ARCHIVES
To
explore the “Archives” in this Blog – go to the top of the latest “blog issue”,
on the right. You access it by
clicking on the Month and Year, and it will drop down with choices. For example, if you click on December, 2006,
a list will drop down listing all issues that were published that month. Click on an issue, and you can then post a
comment to that issue. It’s never too
late to post a comment, right?
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HERE'S HOW to “JOIN THIS SITE”: All you need to do is JOIN "GOOGLE +" -- click ACCEPT
to invitations or click on "JOIN" GOOGLE + FOLLOWERS.
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HOW TO
POST, OR READ COMMENTS: Just
click the button - Comments – below my signature block.
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BETA PI
BLOG ROSTER STATS:
As of December 28, 2018, there are 37 Blog Website Members; there
are 132 ATO’s on the blog list including 13 Brothers whose e-mail address is
unknown, plus 18 ATO Gal-Pals.
VTL,
Larry
Simons
Beta
Pi, 72
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