I met Alan about 30 years ago at the Varick Street office, but the first time I really talked to him was at a black swan event a few years later ... the short-lived "Thorograph Holiday Party".

But I really got to know him only many years later, when he made the rather startling decision to start playing basketball again (as a 60-something coming off a multi-decade layoff).

[Background: For about 45 years - from the mid-70s until covid killed it - there was a Thursday night game at an Episcopal school gym in the West Village. It was where I met TGJB, where he was able to poach Nicely from the employ of Ragozin, and where Alan made his quixotic and gutsy return to roundball.]

I bring this up because, while it was plain to see that Alan was a sweet and smart guy, one could be forgiven for missing the fact that he was also tough. Basketball is a game that exposes you, and, well, Alan's play exposed an innate toughness that earned him the respect of our gang, and undoubtedly served him well later on. The Saint Luke's crew adds their condolences. Well played, Al!