Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Larry and I met in high school (1960?) and became lifelong friends. I consider him my best friend and have enjoyed many good times with him and his family. During high school we both attended "Pinebrook Reading Camp," sponsored by Syracuse University. We had a great time exploring the woods, swimming, and having fun with the other campers. I should mention it was a co-ed camp! Oh, and we learned good study habits, improved our vocabularies, and became speed readers.
I often stayed with Larry at his house for dinner and had many interesting conversations with him, his mom and dad, and his grandmother, Mrs. Davis. We talked about politics, science, world affairs, and how terrible the traffic was on the Long Island Expressway. Always something interesting.
We spent a lot of time of the Kopps' boat "Jala" fishing and just going out in Long Island Sound. One summer, Larry, I, and a friend took the boat out of Centerport Harbor over to Connecticut to see a show at the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT. We moored the boat in a marina, changed into jackets and ties, and got the marina launch to take us to shore. The next day we left for a fishing expedition in LI Sound and after we had a barrel of bluefish we headed for Port Jefferson to clean the fish and give them to our parents, who we men for dinner in a restaurant. No galley dinner out of cans for we fishermen that night! Unknown to me until recently, Larry didn't ask his parents for permission to take the boat on our week-long trip. But, that was Larry. Full speed ahead.
Larry joined my family and me--actually he WAS part of our family--when we made a camping trip to Canada in 1964. We had to clear trees and brush from a lot on a piece of property on a small lake. Fishing was great, although we also made constant trips to the lake to get water for washing, dishes, and so on. It was a standing joke when we asked Larry to go for water. I'm not sure why; perhaps a forgotten story. After my folks built a cottage on the property, Larry was a regular companion for weeks at a time. We always had fresh fish when Larry was with us.
We had many great times, whether lighting off fireworks, helping with a luau at Sand City, going to the movies, or just hanging out, we felt like brothers, and that's how I'll remember him.
Jane and I will miss Larry greatly. And I wish I could spend an hour or two with him right now. We offer his family our sympathy and condolences for their loss of a great man.
