i got some sad news today. the man that got me started in this hobby that i love so much by selling me my first "hobby grade" r/c in 1988, a midnight pumpkin which i still own, passed away yesterday at the age of 97.
his name was tony stanz. he opened up a hobby shop in what was more or less the living room/front room of his house in 1947. i remember stopping in there many times on the way home from work to grab paint/glue/xacto blades, etc., and you could hear his wife in the other room cooking dinner.

or catch him napping in his recliner.

even though the shop is literally right across the river, 3 minutes max from my house, i hadn't stopped in there for over a year. the last couple weeks i wanted to but didn't make the time. now, well........... it would've been nice to see him one last time.
RIP tony. thanks for get me going 25 years ago.